Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) suffered “several serious injuries” after falling 25 feet off a ladder while cutting tree limbs on his Sarasota property, his office said Thursday on social media.
The congressman thanked the doctors, nurses and medical personnel who treated him, and “the individual who witnessed the fall and immediately called 911, as well as Sarasota County’s Emergency Services for their quick response and transportation.”
Steube also expressed appreciation to members of the news media who waited for accurate information before reporting on his fall Wednesday afternoon, and said updates would be provided on his Twitter account.
“Thank you to all who continue to pray for Congressman Steube. The Congressman was knocked approximately 25 feet down off a ladder while cutting tree limbs on his Sarasota property yesterday afternoon,” the office said.
Steube, 44, represents Florida’s 17th district, an area in the southwestern part of the state that includes the cities of Sarasota and Venice.
On Thursday morning, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted that he had spoken with the congressman and his wife, saying Steube was “is in good spirits, and our entire conference prays for a swift recovery.”
“I informed him he will serve on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” McCarthy added. “And he is eager to get back to work!”
The tweet came on the same day the speaker — whose party possesses a very slim majority in the House — announced that he was immediately ending proxy voting in the chamber, which means Steube would have to return to the Hill to cast votes.
Steube, an Army veteran and former state lawmaker, was first elected to the House in 2019. A vocal critic of President Biden, he has backed investigating the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, co-sponsored a bill aimed at reinstating members of the military who were forced out for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and opposed abortion “at any state of development.”
Steube has served on the Veterans Affairs, Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, and he was recently named to the Ways and Means Committee.
He served as an airborne infantry officer and judge advocate and spent a combined eight years in the Florida House and Senate. Steube said he was inspired to join the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.