Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) was released from the hospital Thursday morning after being treated for a mild infection, according to a statement from his office, and will return to the Senate once his doctors approve.

“Senator Byrd will complete the course of his antibiotic treatment as prescribed by his doctors at his home and is expected to return to his official Senate duties upon his doctors’ approval,” the statement said.

Byrd talked Wednesday with several of his staff members and was “pleased” to hear about Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) recovery from surgery for a malignant brain tumor, the statement said.

Byrd also “asked his staff if Vice President Cheney had issued an apology to the people of West Virginia for his recent derogatory remarks about the people of the Mountain State.”

Cheney was forced to apologize after making an offhand joke earlier in the week about family ties in West Virginia.