Pres. Joe Biden pays tribute to former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, pictured in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2018, died Saturday in Salt Lake City at 88 years old. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 24, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Pres. Joe Biden has released a statement on the death Saturday of former Utah senator Orrin Hatch, who was 88.

“Jill and I and the entire Biden family are saddened to learn of the passing of Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Senator in Utah’s history, and the longest-serving Republican Senator in our nation’s history,” the statement says.

“Orrin Hatch once shared in an interview that he had a soft side, and he had a tough side. To serve with Orrin, as I did for over three decades, was to see—and appreciate—both.

“He was the fighter who carried with him the memory of his humble upbringing near Pittsburgh, who never humored a bully, or shied from a challenge. The young man who, upon receiving his degree from Brigham Young University, was the first in his family to graduate college; the young lawyer who built a successful law practice; and the Senator who sprinted from meeting to meeting because there was so much to do—indeed, when Senator Hatch retired, he had sponsored or co-sponsored more legislation than any Senator at the time.

In 2013 newly reelected Sen Orrin Hatch R UT L places his hand on a Bible held by his wife Elaine as he takes part in a re enactment of his swearing in by Vice President Joe Biden R in the Old Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington DC Photo UPIMike Theiler

“I saw that energetic, sharp-elbowed Orrin in the many battles we had over tax policy, the right of workers to join a union, and many others.

“At the same time, Senator Hatch was also a man of deep faith; a gentle soul who wrote songs and poems, and shared them with friends, colleagues, and the world. This was the Orrin who looked out for the people who often didn’t have a voice in our laws and our country. I saw this in his efforts to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

“When I first launched the Cancer Moonshot as Vice President, one of the first visits I made was to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, at Orrin’s request. We both saw speeding the pace of cancer research as an issue that transcended political divisions.

Vice President Joe Biden meets with physicians politicians and patients Friday Feb 26 2016 at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City Photo Gephardt DailyPatrick Benedict

“When I cast my 10,000th vote in the Senate, Orrin came to the Senate floor and we had a chance to speak. I said that the greatest perk one has as a Senator was access to people with serious minds, a serious sense of purpose, and who cared about something. That was Orrin.

“He was, quite simply, an American original.

“Jill and I send our deepest sympathies to Elaine, and all of the Hatch children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.”

Orrin Hatch Photo Orrin Hatch Foundation

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