Reid returning to Senate next week
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will return to the chamber next week, but heâll probably need additional surgery to repair his badly injured eye, senators and aides said Thursday. The Nevada Democrat has been sidelined since a freakish New Yearâs Day exercise accident left him temporarily blind in his right eye and with four broken ribs. Earlier this week, Reid endured a 3Â½-hour surgery at George Washington University Hospital to drain blood in the front of his right eye and to repair broken bones in his cheek, eyebrow and temple. Story Continued Below But because of swelling, surgeons were unable to access the back of his retina, something that will probably force them to perform another procedure at a later date, according to senators who have spoken to Reid. Itâs still unclear if Reid will regain full sight in his right eye, though doctors have expressed optimism about the 75-year-old senatorâs recovery so far. He has more appointments with his doctors Friday. âHeâll be back next week, and heâll run his caucus as usual on Tuesday,â said Adam Jentleson, Reidâs spokesman, declining to comment further. Reid has been recovering this week at his condo in Washington and has made only a few public appearances since the accident, which occurred when a resistance band snapped during his exercise routine at his home in the Las Vegas suburbs. Nevertheless, Reid is expected to return to the Senate by the time of the weekly party lunches on Tuesday, aides said Thursday. Democrats canceled this past Tuesdayâs lunch out of deference to Reid, senators said. In Reidâs absence, his leadership team â led by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), head of the messaging operation â have been running the Democratic minority but keeping in frequent contact with the Nevada Democrat. Durbin said he spoke with Reid on Thursday morning. âHe said, âIâm all swollen from the surgery,ââ Durbin said, noting that Reid was closely monitoring developments in the Senate. Asked about a second surgery for Reid, Durbin added; âIt really depends on whether his eye â the blood thatâs accumulated behind his eye â dissipates. If it doesnât, then they may have to go in and remove it. Thatâs possible.â