Sen Leahy has hip surgery after fall, senators return mid-July for expected busy vote schedule

Democrat Sen. Pat Leahy underwent hip surgery Thursday morning after taking a fall at his Vermont home, according to his office. 

The 82-year-old Leahy is the Senate's most senior member and the chamber's president pro tempore. He was elected to the Senate in 1974 and is not seeking reelection this fall. 

His office said the senator was born with sight in only one of his eyes, leading to a lifelong struggle with depth perception. 

"Having been born blind in one eye, the senator has had a lifelong struggle with reduced depth perception. He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years but this one finally caught up with him. He is expected to make a full recovery and begin a healthy course of physical therapy immediately," the office said in a statement.

It is unclear whether Leahy's injury and recovery time will impact any votes in the upper chamber. The Senate is not scheduled to be back in session until mid-July. The razor-thin majority currently held by Senate Democrats means that the absence of even one legislator could prevent a bill's passage.