Democratic U.S. Representative Cummings hospitalized

[January 16, 2018]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings was treated on Friday for a bacterial infection in his knee at a Maryland hospital, his office said in a statement.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) speaks about former national security adviser Michael Flynn during a news conference on President Trump's first 100 days on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Doctors at Johns Hopkins hospital drained the infection in a minor procedure, it said. "He is resting comfortably and expects a full recovery," the statement said.

Cummings, 66, has represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District since 1996 and is the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Last spring, Cummings was absent from Congress for several months after undergoing heart surgery.

Also on Friday his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, announced on Facebook her withdrawal from the Maryland governor's race "due to personal considerations." She did not elaborate on the considerations or say if they were linked to her husband's hopsitalization.

Rockeymoore Cummings was running against seven other candidates in a crowded contest to become the Democratic nominee and take on current Republican Governor Larry Hogan in November's election.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Eric Walsh, Susan Thomas and David Gregorio)

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