Democratic U.S. Senator out for 4-6 weeks after surgery, complicating Biden Supreme Court plans

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat from New Mexico, is expected to return to Congress next month after undergoing brain surgery last week for a stroke in his cerebellum, according to a senior staffer.

The junior Senator from New Mexico began feeling dizzy and fatigued early Thursday morning, five days before his current condition was revealed. He is “resting comfortably, and expected to make a full recovery,” his Chief of Staff, Carlos Sanchez, said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

A senior aide told CNBC Lujan was expecting to return to the Senate in four to six weeks, barring any complications.

Lujan, 49, was elected to the Senate in 2020 to the seated by the Democratic incumbent, Tom Udall. He represented New Mexico’s 3rd District in the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2021 and served as Assistant Speaker, the assistant House Democratic leader, from 2019 to 2021.

His absence means Democrats lose their razor-thin majority in the Senate, complicating President Joe Biden’s effort to quickly fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. President Joe Biden has received criticism for pledging to nominate a black woman to the empty seat.

The chamber is currently split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in to break any ties. Therefore, Democrats do not have enough members to confirm Biden’s nominee as long as Lujan is absent, given the Senators vote along party lines.

However, it generally takes weeks for a Supreme Court nominee to begin the hearing stage being selected and submitted to the Senate by the President – an average of 41 days in modern times, according to the Congressional Research Service.