Congressman Alcee Hastings of the 20th Congressional District in Florida just shared some news about his health on Twitter. He is being treated for pancreatic cancer.
Rep. Hastings is a fighter. In a statement released by his office, Hastings said he wondered about his survival, but now that he has begun treatment he feels hopeful about his survival and his ability to represent his districts.
Hastings is a former federal judge who was removed from office in the late 1980s. From Wikipedia:
In 1988, the Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives took up the case, and Hastings was impeached for bribery and perjury by a vote of 413–3. He was then convicted on October 20, 1989, by the United States Senate, becoming the sixth federal judge in the history of the United States to be removed from office by the Senate. The Senate, in two hours of roll calls, voted on 11 of the 17 articles of impeachment. It convicted Hastings of eight of the 11 articles. The vote on the first article was 69 for and 26 opposed.
But a few years later, Hastings was elected to the House of Representatives, the same body that voted to impeach him. He has served uninterrupted since. Hastings is a staunch champion of regular people. Please say a prayer or send healing thoughts. We really need him in South Florida.