The accident came as House Republicans navigated a narrowing majority, with the party holding 218 seats to Democrats’ 213 following the death of seven-term California Rep. Doug LaMalfa and the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Indiana U.S. Rep. Jim Baird was hospitalized after his vehicle was struck in a car accident, his congressional office said Tuesday. The 80-year-old Republican, who represents the 4th Congressional District in west central Indiana, is expected to make a full recovery. President Donald Trump said Baird’s wife was also hospitalized in the crash.
“He is extraordinarily grateful for everyone’s prayers during this time,” Baird’s congressional office said in a statement. The statement did not include further details about the crash.
Trump addressed the matter while speaking to House GOP members at a retreat at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday.
“They’re going to be okay, but they had a pretty bad accident, and we’re praying that they get out of that hospital very quickly,” Trump said. “He’s going to be fine. She’s going to be fine.”
Baird, first elected to Congress in 2018, has represented the 4th Congressional District ever since.
Accident comes as Republicans manage narrow House majority
The news came as Republicans mourned the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a seven-term U.S. representative from California. LaMalfa’s death, combined with the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, narrowed the party’s House majority to 218 seats against Democrats’ 213.
The crash also recalled the 2022 death of Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican who was killed in a head-on vehicle collision in her northern Indiana district. Two of her staffers traveling with her and the woman driving the other vehicle also died.