Charlie Rangel Passed Away!

Charlie Rangel has passed away from natural causes.

The former New York U.S. House member Charles Rangel has passed away at the age of 94.

Rangel, an outspoken, gravel-voiced Harlem Democrat who spent nearly five decades on Capitol Hill and was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, died Monday at age 94.

The family confirmed the death in a statement provided by City College of New York spokesperson Michelle Stent. He died at a hospital in New York, Stent said.

Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War, defeated legendary Harlem politician Adam Clayton Powell in 1970 to start his Congressional career. During the next 40-plus years, he became a legend himself — a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, dean of the New York Congressional delegation, and in 2007, the first African-American to chair the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

He stepped down from that committee amid an ethics cloud, and the House later censured him. But he was reelected and went on to serve in Congress until 2017.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the House of Representatives at the time of his retirement in 2017, having served continuously since 1971. As its most senior member, he was also the Dean of New York's congressional delegation. Rangel was the first African American chair of the influential House Ways and Means Committee. He was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Rangel was born in Harlem in Upper Manhattan. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he led a group of soldiers out of a deadly Chinese Army encirclement during the Battle of Kunu-ri in 1950. Rangel graduated from New York University in 1957 and St. John's University School of Law in 1960. He worked as a private lawyer, assistant U.S. attorney, and legal counsel during the early-mid-1960s. He served two terms in the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1971 and defeated long-time incumbent Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in a primary challenge on his way to being elected to the House of Representatives.

Rangel rose rapidly in the Democratic ranks in the House, combining solidly liberal views with a pragmatic style that allowed him to find political and legislative compromises. His long-time concern with the importation and effects of illegal drugs led to his becoming chair of the House Select Committee on Narcotics, where he helped define national policy on the issue during the 1980s. As one of Harlem's "Gang of Four", he also became a leader in New York City and State politics. Rangel played a significant role in the creation of the 1995 Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and the national Empowerment Zone Act. Rangel is known both for what was his genial manner and his blunt speaking; he was longoutspoken about his views and was arrested several times as part of political demonstrations. He was a strong opponent of the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War, and he put forth proposals to reinstate the draft during the 2000s. As his district became more Hispanic, Rangel faced two strong primary challengers during the 2012 and 2014 elections, but he nonetheless prevailed. He did not run for re-election in 2016 and left office in January 2017.

Beginning in 2008, Rangel faced allegations that he had violated House ethics rules and failed to abide by tax laws. The House Ethics Committee considered whether Rangel improperly rented multiple rent-stabilized New York apartments, improperly used his office in raising money for the Rangel Center at the City College of New York, and failed to disclose rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic. In March 2010, Rangel stepped aside as the Ways and Means chair. In November 2010, the Ethics Committee found Rangel guilty of 11 counts of violating House ethics rules, and on December 2, 2010, the full House approved a sanction of censure against him.