DALLAS — Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, the longtime Texas Democrat who became the first House speaker in history to be driven out of office in midterm, has died at age 92.
The World War II veteran and author, often praised for his eloquence and oratorical skills, was living in a nursing home when he died early Wednesday morning, according to the Harveson and Cole funeral home in Fort Worth. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Wright represented a Fort Worth-area congressional district for 34 years, beginning with his election in 1954. He was the House’s Democratic majority leader for a decade, rising to the speakership in January 1987, to replace Tip O’Neill.
Although three House speakers had resigned before Wright stepped down in 1989, they all served during the 19th century — and none had been under fire for breaking House ethics rules.
The House Ethics Committee investigated Wright’s financial affairs for nearly a year at the prodding of a little-known Georgia congressman, Republican Newt Gingrich, who publicly branded Wright a “crook.”
The bipartisan committee charged Wright with 69 violations of House rules on reporting of gifts, accepting gifts from people with an interest in legislation, and limits on outside income.
The committee accused Wright of scheming to evade limits on outside earnings by self-publishing a book, “Reflections of a Public Man,” he then sold in bulk. He was also accused of improperly accepting $145,000 in gifts over 10 years from a Fort Worth developer.
Wright said he hadn’t violated any House rules and vowed to fight the charges. But his support among fellow Democrats quickly eroded.
In a floor speech that ended with the announcement of his resignation on April 30, 1989, Wright called for an end to “mindless cannibalism” and decried what he called “this manic idea of a frenzy of feeding on other people’s reputation.”
