A Republican senator was hospitalized after falling at his apartment Tuesday, The Hill reported.
“Senator [Johnny] Isakson was admitted to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night after falling in his apartment and suffering four fractured ribs,” Amanda Maddox, a spokeswoman for the Georgia senator, said Wednesday. “Senator Isakson looks forward to fully recovering and getting back to work for Georgians.”
Isakson’s office said he would likely remain at least until Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“He is in good spirits and greatly appreciates all who have sent their well-wishes and lifted him up in prayer,” Maddox said.
The rocky road to recovery
Maddox had reported on Wednesday that Isakson was “in pain but resting and doing well” after suffering the fall.
The 74-year old, three-term Republican’s junior colleague, David Perdue (R), said he had “no doubt” Isakson would get better shortly.
“Johnny is a great partner in the Senate, and I have no doubt he’ll be back to work soon,” he said.
Isakson has Parkinson’s disease. He was diagnosed with it in 2013 and announced that he was living with the condition in 2015. He sometimes uses a cane or wheelchair to get around, Politico reports.
Isakson’s impact in Washington
Despite his illness, Isakson chairs two Senate committees and has taken several recent trips abroad for work, including a visit with the troops Iraq in the spring. He also led a Senate delegation to Normandy to commemorate D-Day, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution’s Tamar Hallerman reported.
Isakson was among those Republicans who criticized Trump’s now-notorious “go back” tweets. Isakson said that Trump’s comments were “totally inappropriate,” breaking with fellow Georgia Sen. Perdue, who said it was “outrageous” to call Trump’s comments racist.
“I wasn’t elected to make excuses or explain the statements of somebody else, and so I’m just not going to do that,” Isakson said.
The Republican was the minority leader in the state’s legislature, where he served from 1993-1997 before he took over Newt Gingrich’s House seat in 1999 in a special election. He went on to the Senate in 2005 and won re-election in 2016. His seat is up for grabs in 2022.
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