Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) has grow to be the primary sitting member of Congress to die from Covid-19. His demise, virtually one 12 months to the d
Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) has grow to be the primary sitting member of Congress to die from Covid-19.
His demise, virtually one 12 months to the date after the US’s first confirmed demise from the virus, comes amid a grim interval within the nation’s combat towards Covid-19. Though case counts are falling from their early January peak, deaths are nonetheless quickly accumulating. The US handed 450,000 confirmed Covid-19 deaths final week, mere weeks after the 400,000 demise mark was reached on January 19.
Wright, 67, represented Texas’s Sixth Congressional District, which incorporates Arlington and southeastern Fort Value, since 2019. His workplace introduced he had examined optimistic on January 21, with an announcement from Wright saying he was experiencing minor signs however felt “okay.” Wright had additionally battled lung most cancers since 2018, in keeping with a number of retailers, together with the Fort Value Star-Telegram.
In an announcement, Wright’s crew mentioned he and his spouse Susan had been at Dallas’s Baylor Hospital for 2 weeks. He died on Sunday evening.
“Congressman Wright might be remembered as a constitutional conservative,” a consultant for Wright mentioned within the assertion. “He was a statesman, not an ideologue.”
In his two years in workplace, Wright sat on the international affairs and training and labor committees. He spent his ultimate month in workplace voting towards impeaching former President Donald Trump, introducing anti-abortion payments and voting towards the certification of the 2020 election outcomes.
Although Wright is the primary sitting member of Congress to die of the illness, a minimum of 50 others have examined optimistic or have been presumed optimistic for it, in keeping with NPR. And Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died 5 days earlier than he was set to take his seat as a Home Republican from Louisiana, at age 41.
Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Emmer, a Minnesota consultant, provided condolences to Wright’s household in an announcement.
“Congressman Wright was a sixth technology Texan and a devoted public servant who devoted his life to bettering his neighborhood,” Emmer mentioned. “I hope the legacy and good work Ron leaves behind is a consolation to his household throughout this devastating time.”
A second-term Home member, Wright received in 2018 after the retirement of longtime Home member Joe Barton, who represented the district for over 30 years. Wright had beforehand served as Barton’s chief of workers and because the Tarrant County tax assessor-collector, in keeping with the Texas Tribune.
He’s survived by his spouse, three kids, and 9 grandchildren, in keeping with his crew’s assertion.