Last week, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of the Democratic National Party (D-N.M.), suffered a stroke. He was then able to undergo brain surgery. He is currently in Albuquerque. If there are not any medical complications, he is expected to be back in the U.S. Senate within four to six weeks. But, Democrats have lost their majority in the Senate, and now they have a 50-50 majority.

This means that, until Lujan returns to power, the united GOP can block the Democrats’ agenda. The Democrats cannot do anything about it.

This is a huge deal. Lujan’s absence will not only block the Democrats’ legislative agenda but could also impact Joe Biden’s nomination for the Supreme Court.

Biden stated that he will announce his Supreme Court nominee by February 31st. In recent decades, the average time between nomination and confirmation has been just 41 days. It is possible that Lujan’s return from the U.S. Senate could delay the announcement of his Supreme Court nominee.