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Jim Wright, former House Speaker, dies at 92

He represented his Texas district in Congress for 34 years.

By Ed Adamczyk
Speaker of the House Jim Wright (L) and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (R) discuss the Democratic response to President Reagan’s State of the Union address on January 25, 1988. Wright died Wednesday. (File Photo:Leighton Mark/ UPI)
Speaker of the House Jim Wright (L) and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (R) discuss the Democratic response to President Reagan’s State of the Union address on January 25, 1988. Wright died Wednesday. (File Photo:Leighton Mark/ UPI) | License Photo

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 6 (UPI) -- Jim Wright, the only Speaker of the House of Representatives forced from the position by scandal, died Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday at 92.

A Democrat, Wright represented his Fort Worth district for 34 years, until 1989, when he resigned amid mounting allegations of gift-giving violations, outside business interests and outside income from book royalties. Wright never conceded any wrongdoing. Constant criticism of Wright by Newt Gingrich, who became speaker in 1995, is cited as the start of the current era of partisan rancor in the U.S. Congress. Gingrich eventually had an ethics scandal of his own, and in 1998 became the first speaker reprimanded for ethical wrongdoing by the House.

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Wright earned the Distinguished Flying Cross while in the U.S. Army during World War II, and later had a business career in Texas. He served in the Texas Legislature and was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1954. He later taught at Texas Christian University and wrote books and a newspaper column.

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