WASHINGTON—Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steubereturned to Capitol Hillfor the first time since hefell25feet offa ladder back in January.
What You Need To Know
- Congressman Greg Steube, who fell off of a ladder back in January, made his return to Washington this week
- Steube suffered injuries from the fall including a concussion, torn neck ligaments and a broken pelvis
- He says with Republicans having narrow control in the House he's 'looking forward to getting back in the fight'
"I was trimming a tree on our property about 25-30 feet up and the limb gets cut loose, hit the ladder, ejected me up in the air, and came down to the ground, suffered a concussion, tore the ligaments in my neck and a huge contusion in my lungs, and then I broke my pelvis on the right side, so it's been a slow process," Steube said.
Steubesays hedoes not have any memory of the fall.
An Amazon driver, Darrell Woodie, who also happens to be a staffer for fellow Florida Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan,sawthe accident and called 911.Steube later invited Woodie to attend the State of the Union Address while he was recovering at home.
"God put an Amazon driver at my gate at the exact moment in time that he needed to be there to witness exactly what happened," Steube said. "He walked through processes, and got the ambulance and EMS into the property and got me out. And (I) was in ER and then ICU for several days, and for about six weeks, couldn't couldn't put any weight on the side."
Steube says while he’s still sore, he’s "feeling great." He’s been working from his District, visited Woodie’s Amazon delivery station, the EMT’s, and doctors at Sarasota Memorial Hospital who responded to his emergencyto say thank you.
He says because of some blood clotting in his lung, he had to hold off on flyinguntil hisdoctor gave him the all-clear to do so.
With Republicans having narrow control of the House, he says all seats are critical, including his, as Congress braces for some big debates overthe federal budget, and lifting thenation’s borrowing limit.
"I’m looking forward to get back in the fight," Steube said. "And, when you have small margin like we do in the House, every vote counts. We only have a four vote margin. That's obviously, it's important for all of us to be here."
Steube, who served in the Army, says his biggest priority for the year ahead is expanding health insurance options for veterans.He also recently introduced legislation to expand Medicare coverage for chiropractic care.Hesays he’s a ‘big fan of chiropractors,’ but his fall actuallydidn’t have to do with the bill.