Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) and his wife are recovering from a “pretty bad” car accident, President Trump confirmed during his address to House GOP lawmakers.
“I also want to send our best wishes to Congressman Jim Baird and his wife, who are recovering from a car accident,” Trump said. “They are going to be okay but they had a pretty bad accident and we’re praying that they get out of the hospital very quickly.”
“He’s going to be fine. She’s going to be fine, but it was a bad accident.”
Revelations about Baird’s accident came around the time news broke about the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) at age 65.
The Indiana congressman’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Baird’s accident complicates the GOP’s razor-thin House majority, which has slipped to 218-213 due to LaMalfa’s passing and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) retirement, effective Monday.
Further complicating the math for GOP leadership is Rep. Thomas Massie‘s (R-Ky.) penchant for voting against Republicans and the fact that Democrats are set to gain a seat after the Jan. 31 runoff in Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
Baird has been serving in the House since 2019, representing Indiana’s 4th Congressional District. During his tenure in Congress, he focused on veterans and farming issues.
Trump also mourned LaMalfa’s death, which GOP leadership confirmed Tuesday. It is not immediately clear how LaMalfa died.
“I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member — great, great, great member — Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away yesterday, as you probably have heard,” Trump said Tuesday during his speech to House GOP at the rebranded Trump-Kennedy Center.
“He was the leader of the Western Caucus, a fierce champion on California water issues, he was great on water. He wanted to — ‘Release the water,’ he’d scream out — and a true defender of American children. He was a defender of everybody. And our hearts go out to his wife, Jill, and his entire family. You know, he voted with me 100% of the time.”
LaMalfa is the fourth member of the 119th Congress to die, with three Democrats passing last year.
There are currently four vacancies in the House.
