BETHESDA, Md. — A longtime aide says former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge suffered a stroke in suburban Washington, D.C.
Ridge spokesman Steve Aaron says Ridge was taken by ambulance on Wednesday from his home in Bethesda, Maryland, to a hospital.
He says Ridge was conscious upon arrival at the hospital and underwent a procedure that removed a blood clot.
He describes Ridge as being in critical but stable condition. The 75-year-old Ridge was Pennsylvania’s Republican governor from 1995 to 2001. He joined the administration of President George W. Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 to become the country’s first homeland security secretary.
