WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia Dies at age 92.
Senator Robert Byrd (D) Democrat was a Kleagle, a Klan recruiter, in his 20s and 30s. .... He was founder and Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in WV.
A fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to the state of his Depression-era upbringing, died Monday. He was 92.
A spokesman for the family, Jesse Jacobs, said Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He had been in the hospital since late last week.
At first Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, but other medical conditions developed. He had been in frail health for several years.
Byrd, a Democrat, was the longest-serving senator in history, holding his seat for more than 50 years. He was the Senate's majority leader for six of those years and was third in the line of succession to the presidency, behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"It has been my greatest privilege to serve with Robert C. Byrd in the United States Senate. I looked up to him, I fought next to him, and I am deeply saddened that he is gone," fellow West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller said in a statement. "He leaves a void that simply can never be filled. But I am lifted by the knowledge of his deep and abiding faith in God, I have joy in the thought of him reunited with his dear [late wife] Erma."
Mitch McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, also recognized Byrd's service in Congress.
"We will remember him for his fighter's spirit, his abiding faith, and for the many times he recalled the Senate to its purposes," he said in a statement. "Generations of Americans will read the masterful history of the Senate he leaves behind, and they will also read about the remarkable life of Robert Carlyle Byrd."
