Senator Tim Johnson Has Brain Surgery, Doctor Says (Update1)

By William Roberts

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Tim Johnson underwent ``successful'' surgery to relieve bleeding in his brain and treat a congenital malformation of his arteries, his doctor said. Control of the new U.S. Senate may depend on Johnson's health.

Johnson, 59, is recovering ``without complication'' and it is too early to determine if he will need further surgery, Admiral John Eisold, the attending physician of the U.S. Capitol, said in a statement.

``Senator Tim Johnson was found to have had an intracerebral bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation,'' the statement said. ``He underwent successful surgery to evacuate the blood and stabilize the malformation.''

Johnson's wife Barbara said in a statement that the family is ``encouraged and optimistic.''

He is in critical condition, said an aide to Johnson who asked to remain anonymous.

Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital in Washington yesterday afternoon after becoming disoriented during a conference call with reporters.

Democrats would have a 51-49 majority in the next session of Congress in January if Johnson retains his seat. If his seat were to become vacant, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, a Republican, may appoint a Republican replacement, shifting the partisan balance to 50-50 and giving Republicans control through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Dick Cheney.

`Death or Resignation'

Johnson is one of 26 Democratic senators whose death or resignation would jeopardize Democrats' control of the chamber because their successor would be appointed by a Republican governor. That number will fall to 18 in January when the governorships of Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York switch to Democratic from Republican control.

``Mr. Johnson is recovering and we are hopefully going to get some good news,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference today. She refused to address how his illness might determine control of the Senate.

While vacancies aren't uncommon in the Senate, they can only occur ``by death or resignation,'' said Richard Baker, the Senate historian.

``There either has to be a death certificate or there has to be a letter of resignation,'' he said. ``Nobody has the power to determine a vacancy for a person who is still living.''

Illness

Some lawmakers in the past have kept their seats in spite of long illnesses.

In 1969, two years into his fourth term, South Dakota Senator Karl Mundt, a Republican, suffered a stroke and was unable to continue voting. He offered to resign on the condition that South Dakota's governor appoint Mundt's wife to fill the vacancy.

The governor refused, and Mundt kept the seat for the balance of the term, even while missing three years of votes. He remained on three committees until 1972, when the Senate Republican Conference stripped him of the assignments.

In the 1940s, Senator Carter Glass of Virginia, a Democrat, missed two years of votes due to illness. At age 87 and in failing health, he refused to retire even as newspapers from across his state pressured him to step aside.

Johnson became disoriented while on a conference call with South Dakota and regional reporters at about 11:45 a.m. Washington time yesterday, according to Noah Pinegar, an aide to the senator.

Johnson appeared to stutter in response to a question, then seemed to recover, asking if there were any additional questions before signing off, the Associated Press reported.

Ambulance

Johnson later walked with aides from the Capitol back to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building, a distance of about two city blocks, Pinegar said. Aides called the Capitol's attending physician, and Johnson was later taken by ambulance to the hospital. Johnson was conscious and talking throughout, Pinegar said.

Arteriovenous malformations are snarled tangles of arteries and veins that can disrupt the carrying of blood to the brain. Researchers believe that each year between 2 and 4 percent of all AVMs hemorrhage.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who recovered from a mild stroke last year, released a statement yesterday saying ``every member of the United States Senate sends our best to him and to his family at this difficult time, and we wish him a full recovery.''

Reid went to the hospital and remained there into the evening, said his spokesman, Jim Manley.

Johnson, an advocate for U.S. farmers and agricultural commodity producers, is in his second term in the Senate. He was re-elected in 2002 by just 528 votes out of more than 334,000 cast. An attorney, he had served five terms in the House of Representatives from 1986 to 1996 before winning his Senate seat.

To contact the reporter on this story: William Roberts in Washington at wroberts@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: December 14, 2006 10:56 EST