Sen. Robert Byrd, 90, hospitalized

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, the chamber's longest-serving member, will remain in a Washington hospital for "several more days" for treatment of a mild infection, his office said Tuesday.

The 90-year-old West Virginia Democrat appeared lethargic and sluggish when he arrived at his Senate office Monday afternoon in preparation for a vote on global warming, his office said. He was taken to the hospital Monday night after his caregiver found him suffering from a fever.

Byrd "will remain in the hospital for several more days for monitoring and antibiotic treatment for a mild infection," his office said in a written statement Tuesday. But it described the senator as "alert, talking with staff and in good spirits."

Byrd was first elected to the Senate in 1958. As the senior senator of the majority party, he serves as president pro tempore of the Senate -- a post that puts him third in line for the presidency.

He was briefly hospitalized in February at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after he complained of pain after falling at his home, but X-rays showed that no bones were broken. He was hospitalized again in March after an apparent reaction to antibiotics he was taking to treat an infection.

Just hours before his most recent trip to the hospital, Byrd blasted Vice President Dick Cheney for a jab at his home state in which the vice president implied that inbreeding is common among West Virginians. In a written statement, Byrd declared that Cheney showed "contempt and astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen" with the comment.

"Now that he or the administration he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia," Byrd said.

Cheney's office later issued an apology for what it called an "offhand comment" that was not meant to hurt anyone.

"On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark," Cheney spokeswoman Lea Ann McBride said.

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