WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) is expected to miss votes the rest of the week after being admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital this afternoon with a respiratory illness. Doctors at George Washington University Hospital told Coble that his sodium levels were too low and he needed to be admitted for treatment.
Coble’s office announced that physicians at George Washington University Hospital expect that the 80-year-old 6th District representative could be in the hospital for four to five days. According to his Chief of Staff Ed McDonald, Coble has been fighting a cold for more than a week.
“His cold seemed much worse when he arrived in Washington last night,” McDonald said in a statement. “He requested a leave of absence on Monday because he did not feel well enough to vote after his flight to D.C. was postponed by more than six hours yesterday in Greensboro. When he did not feel any better today, he visited the attending physician in the Capitol, who made the determination to transport Congressman Coble to George Washington University Hospital for observation.”
As of this afternoon, doctors at the hospital had not detected any additional concern other than the low sodium levels brought on by Coble’s respiratory illness, the statement said.