Rep John Campbell (R-CA) On Month Hiatus After Surgery

[stopbush]

Rep. Campbell to go on hiatus after surgery

By Brianna Bailey

Updated: Thursday, February 5, 2009 1:30 PM PST

U.S. Rep. John Campbell will be out of commission for about a month after undergoing surgery to remove part of his colon, the congressman divulged on his website Thursday.

“In car terms (I am ever the car guy after all), my muffler is bad and I’m going to be straight-piped,” Campbell wrote in a blog entry on Thursday.

The congressman worked in the automotive industry before beginning his political career as a state assemblyman in 2000.

Campbell, who serves on the House Budget Committee and chairs the Budget and Spending Task Force of the Republican Study Committee, will not attend governmental hearings or vote while recovering from surgery, according to his website.

Campbell has suffered from diverticulitis for the past eight years. The digestive disease causes pouches to form in the digestive tract and causes severe abdominal pain when they become infected, according to the Mayo Clinic.