Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries revealed in a social media post on Tiktok what caused her absence the past month.
Beatty, the 75-year-old Columbus Democrat, said she had hip replacement and eye surgery. Beatty returned to Washington D.C. last week to vote against the budget reconciliation bill President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.
Beatty has missed several votes in the last month, including a narrow vote that could rescind funding for public media and foreign aid organizations.
Beatty explained why she showed up for the budget bill.
"There was no option. I know how important health care is," Beatty said. "This big ugly bill rips, as we know, 17 million people will be faced with losing their health care."
Beatty sat in a wheelchair with a covering over her eye and a cane in her lap in front of Jeffries.
"I'm here because this is not about me. It's about all those families, all those children. And we want to send a strong message to all Republicans that this is NOT right and too many families, too many individuals will suffer," Beatty continued.
Jeffries praised Beatty, saying she defied recommendations from her doctor to vote against Trump's bill.
"I just want to thank the congresswoman for her persistence and resilience in getting here to Washington, literally rolling out of a hospital bed after completing surgery, traveling halfway across the country against medical advice," Jeffries said.
The bill, which Trump calls his "One Big Beautiful Bill" will allow him to implement much of his domestic agenda. This includes extending the 2017 tax cuts, expanding immigration enforcement while cutting funding for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Including Beatty, all House Democrats and two House Republicans voted against the bill. The bill narrowly passed the U.S. Senate with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote.
