A U.S. senator received a standing ovation as he returned to work after suffering a stroke just over a month ago.
Senators rose and applauded Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) during a committee hearing on Thursday morning as he entered the room. The applause lasted for roughly 40 seconds.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said, “Senator Luján, so good to see you.”
“It’s an absolute honor to be back!” Luján responded.
He continued, “To every one of you that sent me notes and sent videos and all the prayers, it worked. It’s good to be back. I tell you, I missed you all.”
Watch the moment below:
Senator Ben Ray Luján receives a standing ovation upon his return to the Senate.
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 3, 2022
.@SenatorCantwell: "Senator Luján, so good to see you."@SenatorLujan: "It's an absolute honor to be back!" pic.twitter.com/3q2rYR1eIk
Luján suffered a stroke in January and was expected to make a full recovery. But his absence from the Senate temporarily left Democrats’ nominal control of the Senate in a perilous position.
As Politico noted at the time, “Luján’s unexpected medical condition comes at a moment when Senate Democrats simply don’t have any votes to spare to pass party priorities, including reviving their social spending bill and now confirming a Supreme Court justice. The latest news could leave Democrats reliant on Republican votes to move forward on nominees and other priorities.”
In a video in February, Luján predicted he would recover and be back in the Senate in time for the confirmation hearing of President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“I’m doing well. I’m strong,” he said in the video. “I’m going to walk out of here. I’m going to beat this, and I’m going to be stronger once I come out.”
He continued, “I’m proud to report then I’ll be back on the floor of the United States Senate in just a few short weeks to vote on important legislation and to consider a Supreme Court nominee.”
Jackson’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Mar. 21.
