U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans still hasn't voted since his May stroke, but says he'll be back in January

Julia Terruso, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 17, 2024

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, who suffered a stroke in May, was not in Washington voting this week as his colleagues prepared to vote on a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

But Evans, 70, who won reelection in November as a Pennsylvania Democrat, said in a statement posted to his website that he will be back when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan 3.

Democrats will need him then as Republicans aim to push through legislation with the narrowest majority in modern history.

“While I am eager to return to Washington as soon as possible, my medical team has advised me to continue with more rehab and recovery before resuming regular travel to and from Washington,” Evans said in a statement posted to his congressional website last month.

He said his doctors’ goal is to “make sure my leg and mobility are in improved condition to enable my return to full duty.”

Evans said in May that he expected to be back to work in six weeks. He told The Inquirer in an interview in early October that he’d be back in November.

The latest update was published to Evans’ U.S. House webpage on Nov. 19 and comes as Republicans are poised to narrowly control the House and the Senate.

Republicans will start with a five-seat majority in the House, but that grip could become more tenuous as three additional GOP seats are expected to be vacant in early 2025 until special elections are held.

That will make Democratic attendance key.

Evans, who represents Philadelphia, is entering his fifth term in office. From 2016, when he was elected to Congress, until last year, he rarely missed an opportunity to vote. For one period, from October 2020 to June 2022, he didn’t miss a single roll call, according to congressional voting records. However, following his stroke, Evans has not been recorded as voting on any roll call votes since May 8.

The House has not allowed for proxy voting since Republicans took control of the chamber in 2022.

Evans said in the statement he’s continued to take constituent meetings in his district and that his offices remain open. He attended the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend and posed for a photo with fellow Democratic U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle and Mary Gay Scanlon, state Rep. Morgan Cephas, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

The congressman, who also served 36 years in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, has stressed that he was cognitively unaffected by the stroke and eager to get back to Washington.

Evans’ reliably Democratic seat is one that several other politicians in Philadelphia have eyed in recent years.

Pennsylvania Democratic Party chair Sen. Sharif Street has said that if Evans were to retire, he would run for the job. Political insiders have also said Cephas has been floated as a possible successor to Evans. State Rep. Chris Rabb (D., Philadelphia) set up an exploratory committee for a potential run in October 2023, but never entered the race.