President Joe Biden expressed his sorrow over the death of former Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah who had served 42 years in Congress.
“Jill and I and the entire Biden family are saddened to learn of the passing of Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Senator in Utah’s history, and the longest-serving Republican Senator in our nation’s history,” Biden said in a statement Sunday afternoon. Hatch, who died at the age of 88 on Saturday, was described as a “fighter” who had both a soft and tough side.
UTAH DEMOCRATS NIX CANDIDATE FROM BALLOT, BACK INDEPENDENT EVAN MCMULLIN FOR SENATE
Born on March 22, 1934, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Hatch went on to graduate from Brigham Young University in 1959 and earned his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh Law School in 1962, according to the Orrin Hatch Foundation website.
After serving as a trial lawyer in Pittsburgh, Hatch moved to Utah in 1969, where he entered public service. Hatch was first elected to Senate in 1977. He became the Senate president pro tempore in 2015.
“He was the fighter who carried with him the memory of his humble upbringing near Pittsburgh, who never humored a bully, or shied from a challenge,” Biden wrote. “The young man who, upon receiving his degree from Brigham Young University, was the first in his family to graduate college; the young lawyer who built a successful law practice; and the Senator who sprinted from meeting to meeting because there was so much to do—indeed, when Senator Hatch retired, he had sponsored or co-sponsored more legislation than any Senator at the time.”
Biden said Hatch had been a “man of deep faith” and a “gentle soul who wrote songs and poems,” adding that he could see that Hatch had been a man who had watched over people who didn’t have a voice. “I saw this in his efforts to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program,” Biden said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Jill and I send our deepest sympathies to Elaine, and all of the Hatch children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” Biden wrote.
