Former Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who served 42 years in Congress, has died at the age of 88, his foundation announced Saturday.
Hatch, the longest-serving senator in Utah’s history, died at 5:30 p.m. local time Saturday surrounded by family in Salt Lake City. The foundation, which the senator launched in early 2019 as he retired from his seat, declined to provide a cause of death. The group’s press release also said that funeral arrangements would be forthcoming.
Hatch was first elected to the Senate in 1977 and served seven terms in the upper chamber. He became the Senate president pro tempore, a position placing him third in the line of presidential succession, in 2015 when Republicans retook the body. His 42-year tenure also made him the longest-serving GOP senator in U.S. history.
UTAH DEMOCRATS NIX CANDIDATE FROM BALLOT, BACK INDEPENDENT EVAN MCMULLIN FOR SENATE
“A man of wisdom, kindness, character, and compassion, Orrin G. Hatch was everything a United States Senator should be,” A. Scott Anderson, the chairman of the Hatch Foundation, said in a statement. “He exemplified a generation of lawmakers brought up on the principles of comity and compromise, and he embodied those principles better than anyone. In a nation divided, Orrin Hatch helped show us a better way by forging meaningful friendships on both sides of the aisle.”
Hatch was known as a staunch conservative on economic and social issues, though he will also be remembered for his successful bipartisan legislative efforts. Those achievements included the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act and the 1997 Children’s Health Insurance Program. His friendship with Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was on full display when they worked together to pass the landmark legislation expanding children’s healthcare access.
The Utah senator served through seven presidential administrations and nine Senate majority leaders. Over the course of his career, he served as the chairman of the influential Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, tweeted that the news of Hatch’s passing “breaks my heart.”
“Abby and I are so grateful for the opportunities we had to spend time with this incredible public servant. He was always so kind and generous with his time and wisdom. Utah mourns with the Hatch family,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump also offered his condolences to the longtime lawmaker, to whom he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, saying that Hatch “was as wise as he was kind, and as tough as he was smart — he loved America and his contributions to our Country were tremendous. His legacy will surely live on through the many lives he impacted.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence also tweeted that he and former second lady Karen Pence “were saddened to hear of the passing of Orrin Hatch, a true statesman who represented the best of UT & America. As the longest serving Republican Senator in history, he dedicated decades of his life to public service & we’ll always be grateful for his leadership.”
Hatch’s former Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle began offering their condolences and honoring his legacy as Saturday evening pressed on.
“Orrin Hatch was a dear friend who epitomized what it means to be a public servant,” Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, a centrist with a penchant for bipartisanship, tweeted. “Over the years, he was a model for me of a serious legislator who reached across the aisle and focused on delivering results to serve our constituents.”
“Senator Hatch was kind to me and we worked together well,” Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrote on Twitter. “There were a lot of differences including party, height, age… you name it… but somehow we always looked for common ground.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican, wrote of how “one of the earliest opportunities in my Senate service came from Chairman Hatch.”
“He entrusted me to help write pro-growth tax reform to boost our economy, lower unemployment, & spur job creation. He lived by a mantra of fiscal responsibility & was a blessing to me & our country,” Scott continued.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Utah senator, whose seat is currently occupied by Sen. Mitt Romney, is survived by his wife Elaine and their six children: Brent, Marcia, Scott, Kimberly, Alysa, and Jess.
