{"id":133498,"date":"2026-01-27T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133498\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:00:18","slug":"albritton-hospitalized-after-chest-pain-tallahassee-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133498\/","title":{"rendered":"Albritton Hospitalized After Chest Pain \u2013 Tallahassee Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fb-share-icon\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Tweet\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida<\/p>\n

Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, was hospitalized Sunday after experiencing chest pain, with emergency physicians discovering a small blood clot in his lung, according to a memo sent Monday to senators.<\/p>\n

The memo said Albritton, 57, remained under observation at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital awaiting further testing. He began experiencing chest pain early Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president is in good spirits and has been in frequent communication with staff via phone and email yesterday and today,\u201d Monday\u2019s memo from Albritton\u2019s office said. \u201cAll previously scheduled Senate business will proceed as planned this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president and Mrs. (Missy) Albritton are grateful to the physicians and staff at Tallahassee Memorial for the excellent care the president is receiving,\u201d the memo added. \u201cHe looks forward to returning to the office later this week. The president and Mrs. Albritton would be very grateful for your prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albritton, a citrus grower, is in his second year as Senate president, one of the most-powerful positions in the state. He was first elected to the Florida House in 2010, before getting elected to the Senate in 2018. He began serving as Senate president after the 2024 elections and will leave the post after this year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

The 2026 regular legislative session started Jan.13 and is scheduled to end March 13. Gov. Ron DeSantis also has scheduled a special legislative session during the week of April 20 to redraw congressional districts.<\/p>\n

Albritton has made a priority this year of passing what has been dubbed the \u201crural renaissance\u201d plan, which is aimed at boosting such things as health care, education, transportation and economic development in rural areas.<\/p>\n

The Senate unanimously approved the plan (SB 250) on the second day of the legislative session, an indication of its importance to Albritton. But a similar package got broken up in the House last year and did not pass. It remains unclear how the House will handle this year\u2019s version.<\/p>\n

Albritton, a cautious leader who speaks often about his Christian faith, had well-publicized disagreements last year with House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, about issues such as the state budget and taxes.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview for The News Service of Florida\u2019s \u201c5 Questions\u201d feature, Albritton acknowledged the disagreements but called Perez a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to work through whatever it is that pops up,\u201d Albritton said in the interview. \u201cI\u2019m committed, and I believe that he is as well, because he\u2019s a good leader. Good leaders look at these things, and we may have frustrations, or we may have challenges, but again, it goes back to staying on task and making sure that we\u2019re using our principles and getting to a place to where we\u2019re doing good for Floridians. I will say and reiterate with you again that I have zero hard feelings with the speaker, and look forward to working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"fb-share-icon\"<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Tweet\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t