House Speaker Busch sidelined with case of pneumonia

ANNAPOLIS — House Speaker Michael Busch said Monday that he has been sidelined by a case of pneumonia.

Busch in a state issued a statement late Monday afternoon said he began feeling run-down after a follow-up procedure to his 2017 liver transplant. That follow-up occurred on March 20, the same day he was scheduled to meet with officials of the University of Maryland Medical System, along with Gov. Larry Hogan and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.

“I started feeling run-down after the Democratic Caucus meeting last Tuesday,” Busch said in a statement. “I have developed a case of pneumonia, which has kept me away from Annapolis this week. I am staying in touch with my staff and members of House leadership and am very proud of the job Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones is doing presiding over the House.”

“While I hope to be back before Sine Die, my doctors have advised caution during my recovery,” Busch said in the statement.

The illness prevented him from testifying on his own emergency legislation introduced to address concerns about members of the University of Maryland Medical System benefiting from contracts with the hospital system.

Busch, 72, and the longest-serving House leader in Maryland history, has undergone two major surgeries — the aforementioned transplant and an emergency heart bypass procedure in 2018.

The General Assembly session ends April 8.

Jones, speaking from the rostrum Monday night, said she had spoken to Busch over the weekend.

“He is still in the hospital but thinking about all of us,” said Jones. “So, you got me right now.”