(Bloomberg) -- Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan returned to the Capitol Thursday for the first time since suffering a stroke in late January, restoring a crucial 50th vote for his party in the evenly divided chamber.
Lujan was applauded when he entered a meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee, where he later provided the vote needed to advance President Joe Biden's choice to create a Democratic majority at the Federal Communications Commission.
“It's an absolute honor to be back,” Lujan said. “Every one of you that sent me notes, that sent videos and all the prayers: it worked.”
The New Mexico senator's absence put Democrats in a precarious position in the 50-50 Senate, with his vote possibly needed to confirm President Joe Biden's new nominee to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, which is expected to come early next month. Senate Democrats also have lacked the votes needed move ahead on a handful of other confirmations in recent weeks.
Lujan's vote also could be key if a stalemate ends at the Senate Banking Committee with Republicans blocking Sarah Bloom Raskin, Biden's pick for vice chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve.
Lujan, 49, experienced dizziness and fatigue late in January, his office said, and he was ultimately diagnosed with a stroke in his cerebellum and underwent surgery.
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