Ex-US speaker Pelosi injured on Luxembourg trip

Former U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi delivers remarks at the Anti-Corruption Champions Award Ceremony at the Department of State in Washington D.C, United States on Dec. 9, 2024. Photo by AFP

The 84-year-old Democrat was in the Grand Duchy with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, her spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement.

"Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation," he said.

Pelosi "is currently receiving excellent treatment," said Krager, adding that "she continues to work and regrets that she is unable to attend the remainder" of the delegation's engagements.

The statement did not detail Pelosi's injuries but U.S. media, citing unnamed insiders, reported that she had tripped descending marble stairs and had fallen hard, breaking her hip.

Allies in Pelosi's home state of California and in Washington said doctors were confident the damage could be repaired with a routine operation, according to The New York Times.

One of America's most influential Democrats and the first woman to become speaker of the House of Representatives, Pelosi stepped down last year from her second stint in the post.

She is still an elected representative from California and retains considerable influence on Capitol Hill.

Pelosi had previously traveled in 2019 to attend the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II.

The battle raged for six weeks in icy weather across the Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg -- drawing in 600,000 American and 25,000 British troops against 400,000 Germans -- until the Allies prevailed in January 1945.