US Rep. Don Young, longest-serving Congress member, dead at 88

US Rep. Don Young, an Alaska Republican and the dean of the House has died at the age of 88, his office said in a statement, Friday. 

The statement read, “It’s with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce Congressman Don Young (R-AK), the Dean of the House and revered champion for Alaska, passed away today while travelling home to Alaska to be with the state and people that he loved. His beloved wife Anne was by his side.”

In 2020, Young was re-elected to serve his 25th term as the only representative from Alaska. He was the longest-serving member of the current US Congress. 

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He was first sworn into Congress after he won a special election on March 6, 1973.

Young was remembered as a “fierce defender of Alaska” by his office, who also wrote “from the Trans-Alaska pipeline, to the Ketchikan Shipyard, to the Magnuson Stevens Act, which transformed the American fishing industry, to the numerous land exchanges he fought for, Don Young’s legacy cannot be overstated”. 

In the current Congress, he served on the House Natural Resources Committee. Over his long tenure, Young often was associated with his off-colour remarks and gaffes, which cast a shadow on his work. However, Alaskans kept sending Young back to Washington, and he didn’t take this for granted. 

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In 2016, he commented on this saying, “Alaskans have been generous with their support for me because they know I get the job done”, and added, “I’ll defend my state to the dying breath, and I will always do that and they know that”, ABC News reported. 

Young’s cause of death remains unknown, but the Alaska Republican contracted COVID-19 after his reelection win in 2020. This diagnosis came months after Young had made light of the coronavirus, calling it a “beer virus” and saying media added to the COVID-19 hysteria. 

However, after his hospitalization, Young noted COVID-19 was serious and urged Alaskans to follow the guidelines. 

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Young’s long career can be summed up in his own words to the Associated Press in 2016, “Everybody knows Don Young. They may not like Don Young; they may love Don Young. But they all know Don Young.”