Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hatch, longtime U.S. senator, dies
He’s remembered as conservative who could reach across aisle
SALT LAKE CITY — Orrin Hatch, who became the longest-serving Republican senator in history as he represented Utah for more than four decades, died Saturday at age 88.
His death was announced in a statement from his foundation, which did not specify a cause. He launched the Hatch Foundation as he retired in 2019.
A conservative on most economic and social issues, he nonetheless teamed with Democrats several times during his long career on issues such as stem cell research, rights for people with disabilities, and the expansion of children’s health insurance.
“He exemplified a generation of lawmakers brought up on the principles of comity and compromise, and he embodied those principles better than anyone,” Hatch Foundation Chairman A. Scott Anderson said in a statement. “In a nation divided, Orrin Hatch helped show us a better way by forging meaningful friendships on both sides of the aisle. Today, more than ever, we would do well to follow his example.”
Hatch also championed GOP issues such as abortion limits, and he helped shape the U.S. Supreme Court, including defending Justice Clarence Thomas against sexual harassment allegations during confirmation hearings. He became a strong opponent of President Barack Obama’s 2009 health care law after pulling out of early bipartisan talks on the legislation.
Toward the end of his career, Hatch became an ally of Republican President Donald Trump, using his role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to get a rewrite of the U.S. tax codes to the president’s desk.
Though Trump encouraged Hatch to run again, the longtime senator instead stepped aside and encouraged Republican Mitt Romney to run to replace him.
Hatch was born in 1934 in Pittsburgh. He married Elaine Hanson in 1957 and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1959. He received a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962 and was a partner in the law firm of Thomson, Rhodes and Grigsby in that city until 1969.
After moving to Utah in the early 1970s, Hatch — a former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — ran for his first public office in 1976 and narrowly upset Democratic Sen. Frank Moss.
Hatch went on to become the longest-serving senator in Utah history, winning a seventh term in 2012. He became the Senate president pro tempore in 2015 when Republicans took control of the chamber.
Outside politics, Hatch was noted for his side career as a singer and recording artist of music with themes of his religious faith.
He is survived by his wife and their six children.