The wait continues for Senate President Dominick Ruggerio’s return to the Rhode Island State House.
Ruggerio, 76, missed Thursday’s session. Greg Paré, a Senate spokesperson, confirmed Ruggerio would be absent in an email an hour before he was set to bang the gavel marking the start of the legislative session. He was initially expected to be back behind the Rhode Island Senate rostrum this week, after recovering from pneumonia.
“He just decided he’s going to take another day at home,” Paré said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “He’s been through a lot.”
Ruggerio has not set a new date for his return, instead “taking it day by day,” Paré said.
Ruggerio last appeared on the Senate floor on Feb. 11. Including Thursday, he will have missed nine out of 13 legislative sessions this year, some of which were held while he was in-patient, followed by a stay at the rehabilitation center, at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.
Ruggerio was released from the rehabilitation center on March 12, but also missed the Senate’s session that afternoon, and again on Tuesday, despite repeated reassurances by Paré that his recovery was going well. The Senate has been meeting weekly since January 7, increasing to biweekly at the beginning of March.
Paré said Ruggerio “sounded great” when the two spoke by phone Thursday morning.
Ruggerio opted to skip Tuesday’s session due to the “limited Senate business” — the calendar included a dual celebration for St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s Day — Paré said in a text message.
At that time, Ruggerio planned to return to the chamber on Thursday, Paré said.
Ruggerio’s multiple absences during the 2024 legislative session due to illness caused friction among Senate Democrats, including with his former majority leader, Sen. Ryan Pearson. After Ruggerio backed Sen. Valarie Lawson to replace Pearson as his second-in-command, Pearson challenged Ruggerio for the president role.
Ruggerio held on to his seat in the November caucus, though nearly one-third of Senate Democrats sided with Pearson in the caucus, again voting “present” rather than for Ruggerio on the first day of session on Jan. 7.
Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna Gallo presided over the Senate on Thursday in Ruggerio’s absence.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
