{"id":2437493,"date":"2025-05-21T13:52:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-on-house-oversight-committee-dies-at-age-75\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:53:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:53:35","slug":"top-democrat-on-house-oversight-committee-dies-at-age-75","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-on-house-oversight-committee-dies-at-age-75\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Democrat on House Oversight Committee Dies at Age 75"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftop-democrat-on-house-oversight-committee-dies-at-age-75%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2437493&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia has passed away, as announced by his family on his X account. Connolly died peacefully at home, surrounded by family. An emotional statement from his family highlighted his dedication to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">public service<\/a> and his commitment to helping the underprivileged. Connolly served nine terms in the House of Representatives and was the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Prior to his congressional career, he was a member of the fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. His family did not disclose the cause of death, but Connolly had recently revealed he was battling cancer and needed to step down from his position due to the severity of his condition. Connolly was deeply loved and respected in his community, living with his wife and daughter in Fairfax, Virginia.His passing has prompted condolences from colleagues, including GOP Rep. James Comer, who recognized him as a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-minority-leader-kevin-mccarthy-slams-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-over-conspiracy-theories\/\" title=\"... Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Slams .... Marjorie Taylor Greene Over \u2018Conspiracy Theories\u2019\">public servant<\/a><\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly has died, according to a statement posted to his X account by his family.<\/p>\n<p>Connolly, who represented Virginia and was the ranking Democrat on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/house-oversight-committee-issues-subpoena-whistleblower-steps-forward-info-tim-walz-chinese-communist-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">House Oversight Committee<\/a>, died peacefully while surrounded by family.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is with immense sadness that we  that our devoted and loving father, husband, brother, friend, and public servant, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family,&rdquo; the family&rsquo;s statement read.<\/p>\n<p>It continued: &ldquo;Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better. He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The family concluded: &ldquo;We were fortunate to  Gerry with Northern Virginia for nearly 40 years because that was his joy, his purpose, and his passion.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>You can see the full remarks below:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"zxx\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jpWKyDUzEN\">pic.twitter.com\/jpWKyDUzEN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GerryConnolly\/status\/1925166359983358136?\">May 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>GOP Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-gop-rep-james-comer-confronts-4-sanctuary-city-mayors-one-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">James Comer<\/a> of Kentucky, the Oversight Committee chair, issued a statement shortly after the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m deeply saddened by the passing of Ranking Member Gerry Connolly,&rdquo; Comer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepJamesComer\/status\/1925178494448812541\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted<\/a> to X. &ldquo;He was a dedicated public servant who represented Virginia&rsquo;s 11th Congressional District with honor and integrity.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Connolly was serving his ninth term in the House, according to his <a href=\"https:\/\/connolly.house.gov\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">own biography<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to Congress, Connolly 14 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including five as chairman.<\/p>\n<p>While the family did not mention any specific cause of death, Connolly had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/top-house-oversight-democrat-announces-stepping-amid-grueling-medical-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced just weeks ago<\/a> that a &ldquo;grueling&rdquo; cancer battle would necessitate him to step down as the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">An updated note to my constituents: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/snhaVQK8iK\">pic.twitter.com\/snhaVQK8iK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GerryConnolly\/status\/1916866858126320041?\">April 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency,&rdquo; Connolly posted. &ldquo;After grueling treatments, we&rsquo;ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added: &ldquo;The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Connolly lived in Fairfax with his wife, Smitty, and has a daughter, Caitlin.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly has passed away, as announced by his family on his X account. Connolly, who served Virginia and was the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, died peacefully at home with family by his side. The family&#8217;s statement expressed deep sorrow over the loss of their beloved father, husband, brother, friend, and public servant. They highlighted Connolly&#8217;s commitment to helping others and improving the community while standing up for justice. The family felt fortunate to have had him represent Northern Virginia for nearly 40 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2437494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Gerry-Connolly.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4912,34573,50402,32229,5894],"class_list":["post-2437493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-democrat","tag-house-oversight-committee","tag-leadership-2","tag-obituary","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Gerry-Connolly.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2437497,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437493\/revisions\/2437497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2437494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}