Byrd votes for F-22 money

A frail-looking Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) on Tuesday cast his first vote in about two months, casting his lot with senators who voted for $1.75 billion for the F-22 fighter jet program.

Byrd, 92, was wheeled into the chamber for the vote and wheeled out shortly afterwards. It was believed to be his first appearance on the Senate floor since being discharged from the hospital on June 30. The West Virginian–the longest-serving U.S. senator in history–was hospitalized on May 16 and later suffered a staph infection.

Byrd was in the minority on a vote to strip money from a Defense Department funding authorization measure for the F-22s.

–J. Taylor Rushing