By Aaron Miller-
Paul Pelosi, husband of U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been attacked and badly beaten by an assailant with a hammer. The intruder broke into the San Francisco home Mr Pelosi shares with his wife in the early hours of Friday.
Mr Pelosi, 82, is in hospital, where he is “receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery”, according to spokesman Drew Hammill.
“The speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,” Mr Hammill added.
The attacker has been arrested and, although it is thought the home was targeted, the motive behind the attack is unclear. It is not known how the intruder entered the house.
It comes as concerns grow about the safety of members of Congress and their families, with threats to politicians at an all-time high. The House Sergeant at Arms created a residential security programme, however, which allows security measures up to a cost of $10,000 at the home of a House member.
Mrs Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives, and second-in-line to the presidency, was in Washington DC at the time, having recently returned from a security summit in Europe.
SFPD Chief William Scott was scheduled to lead a press conference at department headquarters at 9:30 a.m. PT, Lobsinger said. The presser still had not begun as of 10 a.m. PT.
The U.S. Capitol Police said it is assisting the San Francisco police and the FBI with a joint investigation.
“The motivation for the attack is still under investigation,” USCP said in a press release. The department noted that Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail when the break-in occurred
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement: “What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act.
“I spoke with Speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Mr Pelosi, who is often at his wife’s side during formal events in Washington DC, was convicted of drink driving following his involvement in a crash in May.
He was sentenced to five days in jail in Napa County, California, but was allowed to serve just one night.