Former President Bill Clinton is in the hospital after developing a fever, spokesperson says

(CNN) — Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday afternoon to a Washington, DC, hospital, where he is undergoing testing and observation after developing a fever, his spokesman told CNN.

“The president is fine,” Angel Urena, deputy chief of staff to Clinton, told CNN in an interview, adding the former president is hopeful to be home by Christmas. “He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving.”

Clinton, 78, was at his home in Washington when he was taken to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He is expected to remain at least overnight in the hospital, an aide said, describing the former president as “awake and alert.”

Word of the former president’s hospitalization two days before Christmas spread quickly among the vast Clinton alumni network. One longtime Clinton associate said the former president’s condition was described as “not urgent or dire by any means.”

Since leaving the White House nearly a quarter-century ago, the 42nd president has endured several health scares.

He had quadruple bypass heart surgery in New York in 2004 and experienced a partially collapsed lung the following year. He had another heart procedure in 2010, when two stents were inserted into a coronary artery.

He was hospitalized in Los Angeles for six days in 2021 for a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream.

Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August and was extraordinarily active on the campaign trail this fall. He has kept a robust travel schedule since the election with the release of his new book, “Citizen: My Life After the White House.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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