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Sen. Richard Blumenthal was to undergo surgery after suffering a broken leg during the University of Connecticut’s victory parade for its NCAA men’s basketball champions.
“What can I say, I love a parade!” the Connecticut Democrat wrote on Twitter late Saturday.
“I did indeed fracture my femur after a fellow parade goer tripped & fell on me during the parade,” he said, adding that he was to have “routine surgery just to make sure everything heals properly.”
The 77-year-old senator said he expected to make “a full recovery,” though it was not clear whether he’d miss any time from work. Members of Blumenthal’s staff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Because Democrats have a bare 50-49-1 Senate majority, the health and well-being of the Senate’s Democrats has attracted a lot of attention this year, with Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) among those who have missed sessions. Prominent Republicans have also been absent at times, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. All the absences have hindered the Senate’s ability to get work done.
Blumenthal was in Hartford on Saturday to celebrate the championship that the Connecticut Huskies won last Monday by defeating San Diego State in Houston for their fifth national title. “Once again, the Huskies have inspired our state,” he and other members of the state’s delegation said in a celebratory statement Friday. “Five national championships don’t happen by accident.”
Fellow Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said that nothing was going to stop Blumenthal from celebrating the team.
“FYI after he broke his femur he got back up, dusted himself off, and FINISHED THE PARADE. Most Dick Blumenthal thing ever,” Murphy tweeted late Saturday.
