Patrick Leahy, who was elected in 1974, is presiding over the trial as he is the senior senator of the party with the majority in the Senate, currently the Democrats. (Photo by ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The 80-year-old senator presiding over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump was hospitalized on Tuesday after sounding hoarse and unwell while swearing in lawmakers as jurors.
Patrick Leahy, who was elected in 1974, is presiding over the trial as he is the senior senator of the party with the majority in the Senate, currently the Democrats.
“This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well,” his spokesman said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated.”
The 100 senators will serve as jurors in the trial in which former president Trump is accused of “incitement to insurrection” in the run-up to the violent storming of Congress by his supporters on January 6.
The trial is due to open on February 9.
Democrats are expected to struggle to persuade 17 Republican senators — the number needed for the required two-thirds majority — to vote to convict Trump.
© Agence France-Presse
