Robert Byrd Falls From His Perch

Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was hospitalized Tuesday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after complaining of back pain after a fall at his home, his spokesman said.

Byrd, 90, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the nation's longest-serving senator, was staying in the hospital overnight for observation, said spokesman Jesse Jacobs. It was not immediately clear whether he had suffered broken bones.

Byrd, who as Senate president pro tempore is third in line to the presidency, walks haltingly with two canes. Due to his frail condition, some Senate Democrats reportedly explored ways to replace him as Appropriations chairman, but he continues to hold the post.

He fell last night at his home, but was able to make it to work today. It looks like it's time for this old man to step down from the Senate floor.

[International Herald Tribune]
[Denver Post]