U.S. Senate in turmoil
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, December 14, 2006
WASHINGTON – Political leaders of both parties suddenly riveted their attention on a stricken Democratic senator from South Dakota. The incoming Senate majority leader rushed to his bedside.
It might seem like an inordinate fuss for a two-term senator not well known outside his home state or the corridors of Capitol Hill.
But as Sen. Tim Johnson, 59, remained in critical condition Thursday recovering from emergency brain surgery, Democratic control of the new Senate hung in jeopardy.
Johnson underwent overnight surgery to repair bleeding inside his brain. He took ill just three weeks before Democrats are set to take fragile 51-49 rule over the new Senate. Democrats seized majority control of both chambers of Congress from Republicans in the November midterm elections.
If Johnson were to leave office, a replacement would be named by South Dakota’s Republican governor, Mike Rounds. A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote.
Johnson was on “an uncomplicated post-operative course,” the U.S. Capitol physician said after visiting him Thursday. Johnson suffered a hemorrhage in his brain caused by a rare and sometimes fatal condition.
“He has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch. No further surgical intervention has been required,” said the physician, Adm. John Eisold.
Johnson was responding to the voice of his wife, Barbara, and following directions after the surgery, the senator’s office said. “He was reaching for and holding her hand.”
Johnson was rushed to George Washington University Hospital at midday Wednesday after becoming disoriented and stammering during a conference call with reporters.
Eisold said doctors stopped bleeding in Johnson’s brain and drained the blood that had accumulated there. “It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long-term prognosis,” Eisold said.
Johnson’s condition, known as arteriovenous malformation, causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
