The office of Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, insists the 49-year-old will make a full recovery from a stroke he suffered late last month. But Democrats worry that any setback can imperil their barely-there majority in the upper chamber, further imperiling President Joe Biden’s agenda and complicating the confirmation process for the next Supreme Court nominee.

There are also concerns that Luján’s office is not being forthcoming with regard to the senator’s status.

On Tuesday, The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government released a statement asking Luján’s office to provide more information on his recovery.

“New Mexicans are left confused and concerned about the lack of information from the Senator’s office,” the statement reads. “The Senator’s health, his absence from the Senate, and his future service are issues of public importance. The veil of privacy must be lifted so that New Mexicans know the state of Sen. Luján’s health and their representation within the Senate.”

Axios reports that Luján, one of six Latinos in the Senate, is “notoriously private.”

But Steven Mintz, an ethics professor emeritus at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, told the outlet that the Senator has an obligation to be open with his constituents.

“Whether it’s two months, four months, six months, there’s no guarantee he’ll be 100% capacity in terms of how sharp he will be, his ability to be involved in discussions, for example, on Supreme Court nominees,” Mintz said.

The Week provides background information on Luján stroke:

After feeling dizzy and fatigued, Luján, 49, checked himself into the hospital and “subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling,” his chief of staff said in a statement [on February 2nd]. “He is currently being cared for at UNM Hospital, resting comfortably, and expected to make a full recovery.” 

CNBC adds:

Should Luján be unable to return to work, the state’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (no relation) would appoint his replacement. The governor is a Democrat, and she would all but certainly appoint a Democrat to Lujan’s seat.

Luján was elected to his current position during the 2020 election cycle. “Before coming to the Senate, he spent a dozen years in the U.S. House, where he rose to assistant House Democratic leader and became the highest-ranking Latino in Congress,” Axios notes.