Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY), a lawmaker known for bridging partisan gaps, passed away at 93 years old.
Simpson passed early Friday after struggling to recover from a broken hip in December, according to a statement from his family and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a group of museums he served on the board of for 56 years.
“He was an uncommonly generous man. And I mean generous in an absolutely unconditional way. Giving of his time, giving of his energy — and he did it in politics and he did it in the family, forever,” Peter Simpson, his older brother, said in a statement.
CBS News reported:
Simpson was famous for his humor and often quipped, “We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.”
A political moderate, Simpson’s three terms as senator from 1979 to 1997 covered the Republican Party’s rejuvenation under President Ronald Reagan. Simpson played a key role rallying GOP senators around the party’s legislative agenda as a top Senate leader during that time.
Simpson was known as a deficit hawk and often railed against those that relied on government programs, while he backed the right to abortion.
Known for his bipartisan friendships, his Democrat friends included Robert Reich, who served as President Bill Clinton’s Labor Secretary.
Colin Simpson, one of the late senator’s three children and a former Wyoming House Speaker, said that the former senator was “gifted in crossing party lines and building bipartisan consensus.”
“Dad and Pete have anchored the extended Simpson family for decades with the same love, humor, compassion and dedication their parents did before them. Dad was a mighty force and with Mom’s steady hand by his side we are so blessed and proud to have been along for the ride of a lifetime,” he continued.
President Barack Obama tapped Simpson in 2010 to co-lead a deficit reduction commission that eventually developed a plan to save $4 trillion through a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, although the plan never gathered much support in Congress.
In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Simpson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
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