Rep. Jackie Walorski, two staff members killed in Indiana car crash

“Dean Swihart, Jackie’s husband, has simply been notified by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Workplace that Jackie was killed in a automotive accident this afternoon. She returned house to be together with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Please hold his household in your ideas and prayers. We can have no additional feedback at the moment. »

Walorski, 58, was concerned in a two-vehicle accident on Route 19 south of Route 119, in response to the sheriff’s workplace. The motive force of a northbound automobile traveled left of the middle line and collided head-on with the game utility automobile carrying Walorski and employees members Zachery Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28. All three occupants of the southbound automobile died of their accidents. Edith Schmucker, 56, was the only real occupant of the opposite automobile. She was pronounced useless on the scene.

Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) ordered that the flags in america Capitol be flown at half-mast in reminiscence of Walorski.

“A lifelong Hoosier, Congresswoman Walorski has lived a lifetime of service: whether or not caring for poor youngsters in Romania, representing her group within the Indiana Statehouse or serving close to a decade within the Home,” Pelosi mentioned in an announcement. “She passionately raised the voice of her northern Indiana constituents in Congress, and she or he was admired by her colleagues on each side of the aisle for her private kindness.”

Walorski had served in Congress since 2013 representing the 2nd congressional district. She was the highest Republican on the Home Ethics Committee and was a member of the Home Methods and Means Committee.

The South Bend, Ind., native labored in journalism and academia earlier than being elected to Congress in 2012. A non secular conservative, she was educated in Christian faculties and did missionary work earlier than coming to Capitol Hill.

McCarthy nominated her in early 2021 to the rating Republican spot on the Delicate Ethics Committee, an equally divided panel that handles investigations of lawmakers.

“I’m honored to tackle the essential duty of holding Home members to the very best requirements of transparency, accountability and moral conduct,” she mentioned in an announcement after receiving the appointment.

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President Biden, who ordered the White Home flags flown at half-mast in honor of the congresswoman, launched an announcement by which he mentioned he and first girl Jill Biden have been “shocked and deeply saddened” by the demise of Walorski.

“We could have represented completely different events and disagreed on many points, however she was revered by members of each events for her work on the Home Methods and Means Committee on which she served,” Biden mentioned.

Fellow Republicans expressed their grief on Wednesday shortly after information of Walorski’s demise broke.

Republican Nationwide Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel known as Walorski a “good pal.”

“She was an unimaginable public servant for Hoosiers and a pacesetter throughout the Republican Occasion,” McDaniel mentioned in an announcement. “Your entire Republican Nationwide Committee prays for his household, in addition to for the households of the 2 employees members who have been additionally tragically killed.”

Sen. Todd C. Younger (R-Ind.) tweeted that he was “actually devastated.”

“Jackie cherished the Hoosiers and devoted his life to preventing for them,” he wrote. “I’ll always remember his spirit, his optimistic angle and, above all, his friendship.”

Home Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) tweeted that he was praying for the households of Walorski and his employees.

“Devastated to listen to the horrible information of the passing of Jackie Walorski and his two workers,” Scalise wrote. “She was a pricey pal who loved serving the folks of Indiana in Congress.”

Within the occasion of a Republican takeover of the Home after November’s midterm elections, Walorski would have been on monitor to chair the Methods and Means Employees and Households Assist Subcommittee. Walorski, an evangelical Christian, was identified for her conservative positions on social points.

Earlier this month, she opposed the Girls’s Well being Safety Act and the Abortion Entry Act, calling Democrats’ stance on abortion “harmful” and “excessive”.

“On the urging of Speaker Pelosi, Home Democrats have as soon as once more voted to greenlight abortion at any time throughout being pregnant, anyplace within the nation, and funded by American taxpayers,” Walorski mentioned in an announcement. “Abortion on demand is a direct affront to American pro-life values ​​and conscience rights.”

A supporter of Donald Trump, Walorski voted towards the president’s impeachment in 2021 for his position within the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, which killed one police officer and 4 others and injured greater than 100 legislation enforcement officers. of the order. She additionally voted towards confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania within the 2020 presidential election.