Two days after being readmitted to the hospital, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) is in “stable” condition, his office said in a statement today.
“On Sunday afternoon, Congressman Pascrell was sent to St. Barnabas,” Pascrell’s chief of staff Ben Rich said, in what is the office’s first public acknowledgement of Pascrell’s second hospitalization. “He is now stable. We will provide updates whenever possible and remain hopeful he will be able to resume his rehabilitation soon.”
Pascrell was initially admitted to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson on July 14, ultimately spending 24 days there before being released to a rehabilitation center last week. His condition worsened once again this past weekend, however, forcing Pascrell to return to the hospital, this time at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
It remains somewhat unclear precisely what has kept Pascrell hospitalized for so long; during his first stint in the hospital, his staff cited his recovery from a respiratory infection, but there have been no details on what caused him to return to the hospital on Sunday.
Pascrell is currently set on seeking re-election to a 15th term in Congress this November, facing off against Republican Billy Prempeh in the Democratic-leaning 9th congressional district. If he wins, Pascrell would become the new oldest member of the U.S. House.
But the congressman’s repeated medical problems have prompted some questions from fellow Democrats about his ability to campaign for his seat, and to serve an additional two years if he wins. Democrats in Passaic County have begun filling county committee seats that had long been vacant, perhaps in preparation for the possibility that Pascrell drops his re-election campaign at the last minute.
If that were to happen, Democratic county committeemembers in Bergen, Passaic, and Hudson Counties would meet for a hastily scheduled convention to determine a new Democratic nominee for the seat, with no ability for voters themselves to weigh in on the process. The deadline for Pascrell to exit the race is August 27, and the deadline to choose a new nominee is August 29.