Longtime West Virginia Sen. Rockefeller dies

Roll Call · Rebecca Gale · 2026-11-06 10:30 UTC

Longtime West Virginia Sen. Rockefeller dies - Uncategorized

Transplanted New Yorker from wealthy oil family led expansion of children's health care, tussled with coal industry

Former Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a five-term West Virginia Democrat and champion for the rural poor, has died at the age of 89.

Rockefeller, who retired after the 2014 elections, played key roles on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, where he helped write landmark children’s health insurance legislation, as well as the Commerce, Science and Transportation and Intelligence panels which he chaired.

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