Lauren Boebert recovering from surgery to remove blood clot from leg

Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert underwent surgery Tuesday in Colorado to remove a blood clot in her leg and is expected to make a full recovery, her campaign said in a news release.

The congresswoman was admitted to a hospital in northern Colorado on Monday after experiencing severe swelling in her left leg. Doctors discovered an acute blood clot with a CT scan, and diagnosed Boebert with May-Thurner Syndrome, her campaign said.

May-Thurner Syndrome is a rare disorder that affects women between the ages of 20 and 45 who have given birth.

The campaign said the condition could’ve been caused by dehydration, travel and extended periods of sitting.

The surgery removed the clot and put in a stent. In the news release, hospitalist Dr. Rebecca Bade said that those who undergo the surgery to restore blood flow and recover are able live and work as usual. Boebert thanked Bade and the medical team.

Boebert’s campaign manager, Drew Sexton, said the congresswoman was expected to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Boebert posted a photo of herself on Facebook Wednesday in which she’s holding her grandson and sitting in a hospital bed.

Boebert is expected to appear Friday in Pueblo for the Republican nominating assembly in the 4th District. She has already qualified for the June 25 primary ballot in Colorado by gathering voter signatures, but is also seeking to secure at least 10% of the delegate vote at the nominating assembly — the threshold she needs to advance unless she drops out of the assembly process.

Boebert, a MAGA rabble-rouser, represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, but she’s running this year in the Republican primary to fill former Rep. Ken Buck’s seat in the 4th Congressional District on the other side of the state. Buck resigned from Congress on March 22.

Boebert and her children recently moved to Windsor from the Rifle area.

The congresswoman has received flak over her decision to switch districts after she nearly lost her 3rd District seat to a Democrat in 2022. That’s piled on top of a chaotic year for Boebert, with a very public divorce and an embarrassing moment at a Denver performance of the musical Beetlejuice with a date.

Still, Boebert’s near-national name recognition and support from former President Donald Trump are expected to be boons in a race against lesser known, local Republicans.

If Boebert wins the crowded 4th District GOP primary in June, she’ll likely secure the seat in the general election against a Democrat in a reliably Republican 4th District.

Jesse Bedayn, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul also contributed to this report.