More than 600 sitting senators have died or resigned from office since the first Congress met in 1789. That doesn't mean another will happen soon, but it does underline the precarious position that President Joe Biden and Democrats' reed-thin Senate majority are in following Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján's stroke.
Luján, 49, should recover and return to the Capitol in four weeks to six weeks, barring setbacks, Democrats say. If that happens, Luján's absence could have limited impact on his party's priorities, including Biden's pending nomination to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.
