Former Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR), who resigned from the Senate in 1995 under threat of expulsion due to allegations of sexual misconduct, has died.

He was 93.

Packwood died at a residential care facility in California, his wife confirmed, according to The New York Times.

The outlet called Packwood an “unorthodox Republican” who helped shape “tax policy” and “women’s rights legislation” before facing accusations of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.

More from The New York Times:

The case against Mr. Packwood, who had spent nearly half his life in the Senate, unfolded long before the #MeToo movement spurred society to take more seriously allegations of sexual misconduct against high-profile men. An inquiry by the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Ethics dragged on for more than three years before the committee recommended unanimously that he be expelled.

ADVERTISEMENT

That recommendation was based in part on Mr. Packwood’s diary, in which he detailed his predatory behavior, including toward women he supervised. “Twenty-two staff members I made love to,” he boasted, “and probably 75 others I’ve had a passionate relationship with.”

Only 15 senators have been expelled in Senate history; Mr. Packwood would have been the first since the Civil War. Rather than be tarred with that ignominious distinction, he resigned.

The Packwood case presented a tortuous quandary for feminist leaders. Mr. Packwood was a socially liberal Republican, and for some women’s groups, he was an important ally.

He was an early and vocal supporter of abortion rights. He introduced a bill to legalize abortion nationally in 1970, three years before the Supreme Court did so in Roe v. Wade, and he vigorously opposed Republicans who proposed anti-abortion measures.

His efforts won him the Margaret Sanger Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1979 and a “Good Guy” award from the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1985. Women’s groups raised millions of dollars for his campaigns over the years.

“I am aware of the dishonor that has befallen me in the last three years, and I do not want to visit further that dishonor on the Senate,” Packwood said as he stepped down, according to POLITICO.

In total, the Senate Ethics Committee’s report, detailing sexual assault and harassment allegations, spanned over 10,000 pages.

POLITICO shared further:

Packwood graduated from Willamette (one of his professors was Hatfield) in Salem, Oregon, and then New York University Law School. Back in Oregon in 1962, after two years as chair of his county Republican organization, he was elected to the state legislature, becoming its youngest member.

Six years later, Packwood took on Democratic Sen. Wayne Morse. It was the first time Morse had faced Oregon’s voters since standing almost alone in voting in 1964 against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which essentially gave President Lyndon B. Johnson free rein in Vietnam.

ADVERTISEMENT

“As Morse reflects the past,” a writer for the Harvard Crimson opined, “Packwood symbolizes Modern Oregon — the freeways along the Columbia, the Manhattan-like skyscrapers of downtown Portland. Packwood is a progressive Republican, somewhat along the lines of Illinois’ Senator [Charles] Percy.”

Morse was a gadfly who had made his own share of enemies at home. Packwood said years later: “I wanted to be in the Senate and I figured Sen. Morse might be vulnerable.” Packwood was right, winning by about 3,300 votes.

Morse sought a rematch in 1974, but died at the age of 73 shortly after winning the Democratic primary. Packwood defeated Morse’s replacement on the ballot, and then won reelection three more times. The 1992 election followed Packwood’s divorce from his wife, Georgie Oberteuffer, and came shortly before the Washington Post published its blockbuster exposé of his conduct.

Packwood was not the maverick that Morse was, but his voting record was anything but predictable. In an era when senators regularly crossed party lines on votes, Packwood did so frequently — particularly on social issues. But his fellow Republicans thought enough of him to have him serve as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 1977 to 1979 and again from 1981 to 1983.

His leading legislative achievement came, as Senate Finance Committee chair, in helping to enact the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Even though he was initially reluctant — saying at one point, ‘’I sort of like the tax code the way it is” — Packwood ultimately took the lead in getting the complicated legislation through, along with House Ways and Means Chair Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.).

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.