Retired Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, has died at 77.
The former lawmaker, known for his ability to build consensus in an increasingly divided Congress, died peacefully Monday surrounded by family and friends, said his former spokesman Max D'Onofrio.
Enzi was hospitalized Friday with a
broken neck and ribs
three days after a bicycle accident near Gillette.
He was stabilized before being
airlifted to a
Colorado
hospital
but remained unconscious, according to D'Onofrio.
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Enzi fell near his home around 8:30 p.m. Friday, family friend John Daly said, around the time Gillette police received a report of a man lying unanswered on a road. near a bicycle.
Police did not see any indication that anyone else was nearby or involved in the accident, Lt. Brent Wasson told The Associated Press news agency.
Wyoming Republican Senator Mike Enzi on Capitol Hill in March 2019. AP / J.
Scott applewhite
Enzi, a former shoe salesman first elected to the Senate in 1996, became known for emphasizing compromise rather than confrontation to get bills passed.
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"Nothing is accomplished when we just tell ourselves how wrong we are
," Enzi said in his 2020 Senate farewell speech.
The Republican retired in January after four terms as senator.
He was previously a state legislator and mayor of Gillette, where he owned a shoe store.
Cynthia Lummis, a former congresswoman and Republican state treasurer, was elected in November to succeed Enzi in the Senate.
His family appreciated the prayers and support received but asked for privacy, D'Onofrio said.
The family is planning "a celebration of a life well lived," it said in a statement, and plans to share the details later.
Enzi is survived by his wife;
two daughters, Amy and Emily;
a son, Brad;
and several grandchildren.
With information from The Associated Press.