Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said an accident he suffered last week that left him with a concussion and broken bones would not affect his ability to lead his caucus and he reiterated his intention to run for re-election.  

“I’ve been elected [by Senate Democrats] to run the Senate for two years and I am in the process of getting set up for the next go around,” Reid said in a Friday interview with KNPR in Las Vegas, his first since the accident.  

Reid, who is 75, was hurt when a resistance band he was exercising with snapped. The band hit him in the face and he fell, which left him concussed, with broken bones in his face and ribs. “I think I’ve done a good job of directing my crew without my actually being physically present in the Capitol,” Reid added.  

The accident caused him to miss the opening of the 114th Congress and it’s unclear when he will be healthy enough to work out of the Capitol.  

He will miss a Democratic retreat next week in Baltimore, which President Barack Obama is expected to attend, after doctors told him traveling in a car would not be advisable.  

Asked if the accident had caused any second thoughts about running for re-election in 2016, Reid said “no.”  

Of the accident, Reid said he crashed into a “series of cabinets” at his new home in Henderson, Nev. He hit his head, just missing his temple, but took the brunt of the fall on his right eye.  

“And I broke a number of bones around my eye, and broke four ribs, and [have] few bruises other places,” Reid said.  

Reid said he has trouble seeing out of his right eye and he hopes that improves with time.  

“This isn’t anything that is a slam dunk. I’ve had a serious injury to my eye,” Reid said. “There is blood accumulation there and [doctors] are hoping that resolves itself.”  

Reid also voiced his displeasure with the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the Senate will consider next week and is expected to pass and be sent to Obama. The House passed the bill Friday 266 to 153 .  

“One of the biggest farces we have … has been this Keystone pipeline,” Reid said, noting that it would not create lasting jobs and only benefit oil companies.  

“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Reid said. “I’m confident the president is going to veto it and good, I hope he does.”  

Related:

A Battered Reid Stays on Message (Video)


Durbin Fills In for Injured Reid as 114th Congress Convenes


The 114th: CQ Roll Call’s Guide to the New Congress


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