Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) has died after 13 years in the House, according to statements released Tuesday by GOP officials. He was 65.
Politico notes LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer and former state legislator, was serving his seventh term.
The congressman sat on the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.
He had represented the Golden State’s 1st Congressional District since 2013.
“Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said in a statement posted to social media. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”
LaMalfa’s passing brings the House GOP majority to 218-213.
File/ MAY 20, 2013: Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., poses in his baseball uniform at Roll Call offices. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York called for a moment of silence in honor of LaMalfa at the start of a panel at the Capitol commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
AP reports President Donald Trump expressed “tremendous sorrow” over LaMalfa’s death on Tuesday as he addressed a meeting of House Republicans, lamenting the loss of a lawmaker he championed as an ally for his agenda.
“I was really saddened by his passing,” Trump said.
The president said he considered not giving the speech to honor LaMalfa but decided to go ahead with it “because he would have wanted it that way.”
More to come…