Republican Rep. Don Young Dies Mid-Flight At Age 88

The Anchorage Daily News reports:

Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young died Friday, his office said. His wife, Anne, was by his side, his office said in statement.

“It’s with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce Congressman Don Young, the Dean of the House and revered champion for Alaska, passed away today while traveling home to Alaska to be with the state and people that he loved,” the statement said.

Young, a Republican and the longest-serving member of Congress, lost consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle and couldn’t be resuscitated, said Jack Ferguson, a lobbyist who served as Young’s chief of staff.

The New York Times reports:

Early in his 24th term in 2019, he became the longest-serving Republican in House history, surpassing the tenure of the former speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon of Illinois, who as a teenager had followed the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates and went on to serve 23 House terms in three discontinuous segments between 1873 and 1923.

Gruff and irascible, Mr. Young, who survived occasional allegations of shady ethics, was a staunch opponent of environmental causes and a tough defender of Alaska’s oil, mineral and logging industries.

He used his powerful leadership positions on the House Natural Resources Committee and on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to fund highways, bridges, pipelines and many other projects.

Alaska Public Media reports:

In 2019, Young reflected on his legacy. “I don’t brag about it much, but there’s … no Alaskan right now who isn’t somehow touched by what I’ve been able to do in Congress. And people say, ‘Oh, that’s kind of presumptuous.’ But everybody gets a Permanent Fund Dividend check. That was my bill,” he said.

Young meant that he shepherded the bill allowing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline through the House, and that ushered in an era of growth and wealth for the state, which led the state to create the annual dividend.

“Now everybody gets a permanent dividend check it from that pipeline. And so I take a little pride in that,” he said. “It’s probably the most major piece of legislation has ever passed the Congress for state of Alaska.”

As I reported last month, openly gay Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant has launched a bid for Alaska’s lone US House seat.