SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Representative Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona missed the House vote last week to limit the president's war powers in Iran. She had suffered a fall and had to go to a hospital. The Arizona Democrat came out of the hospital this week and released a statement saying she'll be away a while longer to get help with her dependence on alcohol. I'm finally seeking this help after struggling to do so in the past, she said. And I'm ready to admit that I, like countless other Americans, suffer from this disease.
Representative Kirkpatrick is in her fourth term representing a swing district that voted for both Republicans and Democrats. And maybe remarkably in these bitterly partisan times, she received messages of support from both parties. Representative Paul Gosar, who defeated Ann Kirkpatrick in her 2010 reelection bid, tweeted, I wish Godspeed to my colleague, my friend and my fellow Arizonan. God bless you.
Ann Kirkpatrick ran against the late Senator John McCain in 2016. But this week, both his widow, Cindy, and daughter Meghan McCain said they sent their love and prayers. Republican Debbie Lesko of Arizona said, I commend her courage. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
