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The 88-year-old lawmaker had most recently served the Rochester area, but had previously also served parts of Orleans, Niagara and Erie counties. She had been the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and was the senior Democrat on the panel when she died.
“Louise never forgot her roots as the daughter of a Kentucky blacksmith,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. “She brought the grace and grit of her Southern background to her leadership in the Congress, building bridges and breaking down barriers all with her beautiful accent. Louise could be fiercely debating on the floor in the morning, and singing in harmony with her colleagues across the aisle in the evening.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called Slaughter “a giant in the people’s House” and said she was “unrelenting” in working for her ideals and constituents. “Louise did not need a gavel to make a dent in history,” Ryan said.
