Skip to content

Heard on the Hill: Slip and Slide

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is sporting a new accessory: a sling.

The Missouri Republican slipped on some ice last week walking out of a Cape Girardeau, Mo., bakery and broke her left arm.

“The brownies survived perfectly; I didn’t,” Emerson says.

Now she is forced to do day-to-day tasks, such as getting dressed, with one arm. She gets her daughter and staff to help her with the things she can’t do on her own, and in some cases, she pays someone else to help.

“I can’t wash my hair,” she explains. “So it’s busted my budget because I have to go get my hair washed everyday.”

She adds that either her daughter or a staffer help her put her Member pin on each morning.

“I am the most independent person, and for me to have to ask anybody else to help me with anything is just so anathema,” she says.

Get well soon, Congresswoman.

Recent Stories

At the Races: Runoff, Set, Geaux!

Unceremoniously yours — Congressional Hits and Misses

Trump’s unsupported claims about Reflecting Pool vandalism

Senate college sports bill authors plan talks with House

Federal AI security center measure advanced by House Science

Photos of the week | June 19-25, 2026