Hirono recovering after second planned surgery

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s surgery to remove part of her rib Tuesday was successful, and she is in recovery, according to staff from her office. The operation was the second of two surgeries planned since Hirono was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer earlier this year.

Last month Hirono, 69, had one of her kidneys removed. The operations were expected to remove all traces of cancer.

It’s not clear when Hirono will be back at work, but she bounced back quickly from her first surgery, and during a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, she said that she looked forward to getting back to the fight against the Republican health care proposal.

“I’m going to be back as quickly as I can to keep up the fight against this mean, ugly bill,” she said. “The stakes are too high to stay silent.”

Hirono, who has held her Senate seat since 2012, has been firm about her plans to run for re-election next year, and her Hawaii colleagues in the House have made clear in recent days that she has their support. Both U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa have issued early endorsements of Hirono’s re-election campaign.

Despite speculation in political circles in recent years that Gabbard might try to challenge Hirono for her Senate seat in a Democratic primary, Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser earlier this month that she had promised Hirono both in 2013 and January of this year that she had no intention of doing so.

Last week, Gabbard endorsed Hirono, saying she was “encouraged by her fighting spirit.”

“I was happy to hear Mazie say that she is going to be running for re-election in 2018. It’s an honor to work with Sen. Hirono in Congress,” Gabbard wrote on her Facebook page. “As I’ve said before, Mazie is doing a great job in Washington and I fully endorse her re-election.

“I know she will keep working hard as a champion for women, education reform, affordable health care, immigration reform and so much more as she continues to represent Hawaii in the U.S. Senate.”

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa also endorsed Hirono yesterday morning, sending out an email to supporters asking them to support Hirono’s re-election through a $25 campaign contribution.

Hirono “never forgets where she comes from or who she’s fighting for,” Hanabusa wrote. “She’s spent her entire career fighting for the little guy and to make sure that Hawaii families have a fair shot at getting ahead. In Congress, we’ve teamed up to fight for legislation that will create opportunity for our keiki, keep our promises to our veterans and protect our aina. But battles don’t stay won and our work isn’t finished — not by a long shot. And we need Mazie with us.”