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Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) and three others, including two of her staff, were killed in a car crash Wednesday afternoon, according to the Elkhart County, Indiana, sheriff’s office.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share this statement from Congresswoman Jackie Walorski’s office,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in an announcement on Twitter, posting an image that included the following text:
“The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office has just informed Dean Swihart, Jackie’s husband, that Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon. She has gone home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ . Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Walorski, 58, was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Route 19 south of Route 119, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of a northbound vehicle traveled left of the center line and collided head-on with the SUV carrying Walorski and staff members Zachery Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28 .The three occupants of the southbound vehicle died from their injuries. Edith Schmucker, 56, was the sole occupant of the other vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ordered flags on the US Capitol to be flown at half-staff in Walorski’s memory.
“A lifelong Hoosier, Congresswoman Walorski lived a life of service — whether caring for impoverished children in Romania, representing her community in the Indiana Statehouse, or serving nearly a decade in the House,” Pelosi said in a statement “He passionately brought the voices of his Northern Indiana constituents to Congress, and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle admire him for his personal friendliness.”
Walorski had served in Congress since 2013 representing the 2nd Congressional District. She was the top Republican on the House Ethics Committee and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The native of South Bend, Indiana, worked in journalism and academia before being elected to Congress in 2012. A religious conservative, she was educated at Christian colleges and did mission work before coming to Capitol Hill.
McCarthy nominated her in early 2021 to fill the ranking Republican seat on the Ethics Committee, an evenly divided panel that handles investigations of lawmakers.
“I am honored to take on the important responsibility of holding members of the House to the highest standards of transparency, accountability and ethical conduct,” she said in a statement upon receiving the appointment.
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President Biden, who flew flags at half-staff at the White House in honor of the congresswoman, issued a statement saying he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked and deeply saddened” by Walorski’s death .
“We may have represented different parties and disagreed on many issues, but members of both parties respected her for her work on the House Mediation and Media Committee where she served,” Biden said.
Fellow Republicans expressed their grief Wednesday shortly after news of Walorski’s death broke.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Walorski was a “good friend.”
“She was an incredible public servant for Hoosiers and a leader of the Republican Party,” McDaniel said in a statement. “The entire Republican National Committee is praying for his family, as well as the families of the two staffers who were also tragically killed.”
Sen. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.) tweeted that he was “truly devastated.”
“Jackie loved Hoosiers and dedicated her life to fighting for them,” he wrote. “I will never forget his spirit, his positive attitude and most of all his friendship.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) tweeted that he was praying for the families of Walorski and his employees.
“Devastated to hear the horrible news of the deaths of Jackie Walorski and her two employees,” Scalise wrote. “She was a dear friend who loved serving the people of Indiana in Congress.”
In the event of a Republican takeover of the House after November’s midterm elections, Walorski would have been on track to chair the Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee. Walorski, an evangelical Christian, was known for her conservative positions on social issues.
Earlier this month, he opposed the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Guaranteed Access to Abortion Act, calling Democrats’ position on abortion “dangerous” and “extreme “.
“At Speaker Pelosi’s urging, House Democrats once again voted to allow abortion at any point in pregnancy, anywhere in the country, and funded by American taxpayers,” Walorski said in a statement “Abortion on demand is a direct affront to the pro-life values and conscience rights of Americans.”
A supporter of Donald Trump, Walorski voted against impeaching the president in 2021 for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which killed a police officer and four others and injured more than 100 law enforcement officers. He also voted against confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.