Topline
Former Democratic vice presidential nominee and longtime senator from Connecticut Joe Lieberman, 82, died Wednesday due to complications from a fall, according to a statement from his family.
Key Facts
Lieberman served in the U.S. Senate for Connecticut from 1989 to 2013 and was Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 election, becoming the first Jewish candidate to be on a major-party ticket.
Lieberman was also the first major Democrat—though he later left the party and identified as an independent democrat—to denounce President Bill Clinton for his sexual relationship and scandal with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, according to the New York Times.
Recently, Lieberman was the founding chairman of No Labels and was working to identify candidates to run for president in 2024 on a Unity Party ticket.
His funeral will be held March 29 at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Connecticut, Lieberman’s hometown, and there will be another memorial service announced later, his family said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, he was “devastated to hear about the passing” of Lieberman and is “praying for all who knew and loved him.”
“In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity,” said Lieberman’s successor, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Ct., in a statement, adding: “He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.”
Crucial Quote
Former President George W. Bush said in a statement posted to X that Lieberman “was as fine an American as they come and one of the most decent people I met during my time in Washington.” Bush praised Lieberman’s willingness to work “across the aisle” and said “he engaged in serious and thoughtful debate with opposing voices on important issues.”
Key Background
Lieberman began a career in politics after graduating from Yale Law School, the Washington Post reported. He served in the Connecticut state Senate for 10 years and was Connecticut’s attorney general for six years before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where Lieberman was generally considered a centrist. After a failed run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and openly supporting the Iraq war, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary for his Senate seat in 2006, but was ultimately reelected as an independent candidate. Then, in 2008, he endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain, saying McCain was the person who would help “put the United States first again,” CNN reported. When he left the Senate in 2013, Lieberman admitted he did “not always fit comfortably into conventional political boxes,” and urged bipartisanship, saying: “It requires reaching across the aisle and finding partners from the opposite party. That is what is desperately needed in Washington now,” PBS reported.
