The Hill News

Former Sen. Bob Dole is back in a Washington hospital after a fever he’d suffered from during the week returned.

The 87-year-old former lawmaker was taken to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center last Tuesday for treatment. He was released on Friday, but returned to the hospital in evening.

Dole remained in high spirits.

“Overall I feel good,” he said in a statement to CNN.

“I was examined, treated and discharged Friday when everything looked clear,” Dole said. “After a recurrence of a fever I decided to stop by the George Washington University Hospital nearby then return to Walter Reed Friday evening for further examination.”

Dole spent much of last year at Walter Reed recuperating from knee surgery. His recovery was complicated by repeated bouts of pneumonia.

Dole, a former Senate majority leader and presidential candidate, currently serves as a special counsel at the law firm Alston & Bird.