Politics / Ted Kennedy Kennedy Returns to Senate Ailing senator makes his first trip back since brain surgery By John Johnson, Newser Staff Posted Jul 9, 2008 4:01 PM CDT Copied Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., followed by his nice Caroline Kennedy, and others, enters the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2008, for the first time since his brain surgery. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) Edward Kennedy returned to the Senate today for the first time since his surgery for brain cancer to cast a vote on Medicare legislation, CNN reports. Fellow senators greeted him with a long standing ovation. Kennedy, 76, made a thumbs-up gesture after casting his vote with a loud "aye." His vote helped Democrats break a GOP filibuster and overturn a 10% cut in Medicare payments to doctors. “I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens,” Kennedy said in a statement, “and that’s to protect Medicare. Win, lose or draw, I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.” (More Ted Kennedy stories.) Report an error