In April, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts got a letter from former Sen. Bob Dole.
Just a few months earlier, the longtime Kansas lawmaker, 1996 Republican presidential nominee and advocate for veterans, disability rights and food security had announced he was in treatment for Stage 4 lung cancer. But the consistently active Dole wanted to commend McGovern, a Worcester Democrat and chair of the House Rules Committee, and ranking member Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, for their “joint efforts to address hunger in America.”
“It sure brings back fond memories of working with George McGovern many years ago. Some thought we were an odd couple, but I still believe bipartisanship can work effectively,” Dole wrote in a letter shared by Jim McGovern on Sunday, after the Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced that Dole had died in his sleep that morning at the age of 98.
In his letter, Dole noted he was proud of working with McGovern, the late South Dakota Democrat, after the White House conference on food back in 1969, his first year in the Senate; the pair had teamed up to help lead legislation that bolstered access to food stamps nationwide. Dole went on to endorse the current lawmakers’ bipartisan push for the White House to convene a second national conference on food, nutrition, hunger and health more than 50 years after the first one.
“Our nation must keep making strides to end food insecurity in America,” Dole wrote. “I appreciate your work to bring the topic of nutrition front and center in the United State Congress.”
McGovern, the Massachusetts congressman, was just one of many current and former lawmakers of both major parties who praised Dole for his decades of public service on Sunday. Dole “defined” it, said McGovern, who authored the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, which supports child development and food security in low-income, food-deficit countries worldwide.
“He was true statesman in every sense of the word,” McGovern added. “His leadership with Sen. George McGovern focused the nation on the scourge of hunger and helped our country make some of our greatest strides in the fight against food insecurity. Sen. Dole’s bipartisan collaboration inspired me to dedicate much of my career to working across the aisle to end hunger once and for all.”
In a statement on social media, Sen. Ed Markey sent condolences to the Dole family.
“Bob Dole embodied public service, from the frontlines of World War II to the Senate chamber,” Markey said.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts and 2012 GOP presidential nominee, also issued a statement saying he and his wife would pray for Dole’s wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and her family.
“When I think of the greatest generation, I think of Senator Bob Dole — a man who dedicated his life to serving our country,” Romney said. “Rest in peace, my friend.”
President Joe Biden said Sunday that one of the first conversations he had with anyone outside the White House after taking office was with Dole and his wife — Biden’s friends for “over half a century” — in their Washington, D.C., home, not long after Dole had been diagnosed with cancer.
“I was there to offer the same support, love and encouragement that they showed me and Jill when our son Beau battled cancer,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
The president noted that he “disagreed often” with Dole during their time together in the Senate, but that the Republican “never hesitated to work with me or other Democrats when it mattered most.”
He praised Dole’s bipartisan efforts on food security, Social Security, designating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a federal holiday, and leading on the Americans with Disabilities Act in partnership with former Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
“Bob was an American statesman like few in our history,” Biden added. “A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves. I will miss my friend.”
In a statement Sunday evening, former President Donald Trump called Dole “an American war hero and true patriot.”
“He served the great state of Kansas with honor and the Republican party was made stronger by his service,” Trump added.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — who was re-elected after facing Dole in 1996 — offered tributes over social media, thanking Dole for his decades of service.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the nation mourned the loss of “a towering leader who embodied courage and excellence in public service.”
“With great valor and heroism, Senator Dole put his life on the line on the battlefield to defend our democracy,” she added. “From the well of the House to the floor of the Senate, from presidential candidate to elder statesman, he served our county with great integrity and was a man of his word.”
Former President Barack Obama credited Dole for his career and “country first” mentality.
“Senator Bob Dole was a war hero, a political leader and a statesman — with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party.”
Dole, who had been severely wounded in combat while in the Army, spent several years devoted to supporting wounded veterans and their families. The Associated Press called him a “driving force” behind the creation of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Our ranks have dwindled,” he said at the memorial’s dedication in 2004, AP reported. “Yet if we gather in the twilight it is brightened by the knowledge that we have kept faith with our comrades.”
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