Republican congressman hospitalized after car accident, sources say

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Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., has been hospitalized after a car accident, Fox News has learned.

Baird, 80, is responsive and in stable condition, Fox News sources said.

Details about the incident remain unclear, although President Donald Trump said that the incident was "pretty bad" and that Baird's wife was also injured.

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Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., has been hospitalized after a car accident, Fox News has learned. Baird is pictured speaking in Washington on June 10, 2025 as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks on. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"I also want to send our best wishes to Congressman Jim Baird and his wife, who were recovering from a car accident," Trump said Tuesday during remarks at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. "They’re going to be okay, but they had a pretty bad accident and we’re praying that they get out of that hospital very quickly." 

Trump also paid tribute to Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who has died at age 65. His death brings House Republicans' majority down to 218–213. 

Baird, known on Capitol Hill for veterans and farming issues, has represented Indiana’s 4th Congressional District since 2019. The district is a largely rural, agriculture-heavy area in western and north-central Indiana.

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Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., arrives for a House Foreign Affairs Committee markup hearing at the Capitol Visitor Center on March 24, 2023, in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

A U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War, Baird later became a veterinarian and entered politics after decades in private practice.

Before entering Congress, Baird served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018 and as a Putnam County commissioner before that, from 2006 to 2010.

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Rep. Jim Baird appears on stage with actors Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley during a Washington screening of the documentary "Common Ground" on Sept. 18, 2023. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Over the weekend, Baird hailed the Trump administration's capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. 

"We are fortunate to have a president willing to follow through on protecting American lives. Decisive leadership as commander in chief matters, and it gives our men and women in uniform the confidence they need to carry out difficult missions against those who threaten our country," Baird wrote on X. 

"Holding indicted criminals accountable and denying drug traffickers a safe haven sends a clear message: The United States will not tolerate foreign actors who enable the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our communities.