Alaska Congressman Don Young Has Died

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Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has died, Alaska Public Radio reported.

Young was the longest-serving current member of the House of Representatives at the time of his death. He was 88.

Citing former staffers and relatives, Liz Ruskin of Alaska Public Radio reported the news on Friday night.

Young took office in 1973 and has never relinquished Alaska’s sole House seat. He became Dean of the House after Rep. John Conyers resigned from Congress in 2017.

A colorful character, former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) one claimed Young held a knife to his throat over a disagreement on earmarks. According to Boehner, Young once pinned him against a wall and held a 10-inch knife to his throat. The Speaker told him, “Fuck you.”

POLITICO noted, “Young says this account is ‘mostly true,’ but notes that the two became good friends, with Boehner later serving as his best man.”

Young first ran for the House in 1972, when he notched the rare distinction of losing to a dead candidate. Less than a month before the election, Rep. Nick Begich (D) disappeared while traveling via plane from Anchorage to Juneau. Rep. Hale Boggs (D-LA) was also on board. They were never found.

Though he lost the November election, Young would go on to win a special election in 1973 to fill the seat.

A cause of death has yet to be disclosed.