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Former Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving senator in Utah history, has died at age 88.
Hatch served as a senator from 1977 to 2019. He was also the former President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate.
According to the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, Hatch died at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Salt Lake City, surrounded by family.
The Hatch Foundation sadly announces the passing of Senator Orrin G. Hatch—the former President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and the longest-serving Senator in Utah history (1977-2019).
To learn more about his incredible life, click here:https://t.co/XFOMEYbe2l pic.twitter.com/dCGa7ew11f
— Orrin G. Hatch Foundation (@OrrinHatch) April 24, 2022
“Born the son of a carpenter and plaster lather, he overcame the poverty of his youth to become a United States Senator,” said Matt Sandgren, Executive Director of the Hatch Foundation. “With the hardships of his upbringing always fresh in his mind, he made it his life’s mission to expand freedom and opportunity for others—and the results speak for themselves. From tax and trade to religious liberty and healthcare, few legislators have had a greater impact on American life than Orrin Hatch.”
“He was a profoundly positive influence in the lives of those he served, whether they were the constituents he helped over four decades of casework, the hundreds of interns he sponsored in both Utah and DC, or the robust network of Hatch staffers who carry on his legacy to this day,” Sandgren said. “Senator Hatch touched the hearts of countless individuals, and I know I speak for all of them when I say he will be dearly missed.”
When Hatch retired in 2019, at the end of his seventh term, he was chair of the powerful tax-writing Finance Committee and was Senate president pro tempore. Mr. Hatch sponsored or co-sponsored 790 pieces of legislation that became law, more than any other senator in office at the time, according to Library of Congress, including the 2017 GOP tax reform bill. Hatch was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.
Hatch, who had been working as a lawyer, won election to the Senate on his first attempt. Campaigning against a three-term Democratic incumbent, he championed the idea of term limits, a policy he reversed on over the course of his seven terms in office. Among his key goals was a balanced budget amendment, which he sponsored 17 times in an attempt to ensure that governmental spending not exceed receipts. More successful was the legislation he co-sponsored that led to the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
