Former Senator Thad Cochran passed away Thursday morning at the age of 81. Cochran served in the US Senate for 45 years.
From Politico:
Cochran served as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, most recently from 2015 until April of 2018, and helped direct millions of dollars to his home state in his 45 years in Congress. He stepped down last spring as his health deteriorated, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) was selected as his replacement.The GOP senator was a throwback from a more genteel era of American politics, rarely engaging the brutal fights and pitched partisanship of today’s modern-day Senate. In his farewell speech last year, Cochran reminisced of serving in Congress “with nine presidents during times of conflict and peace.””We have engaged in heated arguments. But even in full disagreement, I believe all our motivations begin at the same point: the sincere desire to serve our states and country,” he said then. He is the tenth-longest serving senator of all time, according to Senate records.The low-key Republican had good relationships with Democrats and was nicknamed the “quiet persuader” for his style of politicking. Indeed, he rarely raised his voice, shied away from the press and generally kept his head down in the Capitol as he sought to strike consensus on spending and farm bills.
Trump responded to the news:
A Cochran throwback, courtesy of CSPAN:
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