Aide: Clinton recovering from urological infection

ORANGE, Calif. — Bill Clinton was said to be recovering from a urological infection Friday, and an aide to the former president said that Clinton was in an intensive care section of the hospital, though not receiving “ICU care.”

The aide, who spoke to reporters at the hospital on the condition his name wasn’t used, did not elaborate on the reason Clinton was in the ICU. He said Clinton had a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream, but is on the mend and never went into septic shock, a potentially lifethreatening condition.

Clinton was in good spirits and juggling books and watching TV coverage about his hospitalization, the aide said. Hillary Clinton was with him in the hospital, though not his daughter, Chelsea Clinton. There was no immediate word on any timeline for his release.

President Joe Biden said Friday during remarks at a child care center that he’s been “exchanging calls” about Clinton and “he seems to be, God willing, doing well.” Biden and Clinton spoke by telephone Friday afternoon, said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.

“President Biden and President Clinton look forward to seeing each other again soon,” Jean-Pierre said in an emailed statement. “President Biden wishes President Clinton a speedy recovery.”

Clinton, 75, was admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening for a non-COVID-19-related infection, Clinton spokesman Angel Urena said Thursday in a statement.

“He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care,” Urena said.

A second statement from Clinton’s spokesman quoted physicians Dr. Alpesh Amin and Dr. Lisa Bardack, who said the former president has been “administered IV antibiotics and fluids.”

“After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well,” the doctors said. “The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the President’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist. We hope to have him go home soon.”

In the years since Clinton left the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 he had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery.

He responded by embracing a largely vegan diet that saw him lose weight and report improved health.

He repeatedly returned to the stump, campaigning for Democratic candidates, mostly notably his wife, Hillary, during her failed 2008 bid for the presidential nomination. And in 2016, as Hillary Clinton sought the White House as the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton — by then a grandfather and nearing 70 — returned to the campaign trail.