<p>US Republican Representative Don Young, who was first elected to Congress in 1973 and was its longest-serving current member, died on Friday, his office said in a statement.</p>.<p>The 88-year-old congressman died while traveling home to Alaska, his office said.</p>.<p>"Don Young's legacy as a fighter for the state will live on, as will his fundamental goodness and honor. We will miss him dearly," the statement said.</p>.<p>His office did not give the cause of death. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Young lost consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle and could not be resuscitated. The newspaper report cited Jack Ferguson, who had served as Young's chief of staff.</p>.<p>Young was Alaska's only member in the House of Representatives. The longest-serving member of the current US Congress, according to his website, he represented Alaska for 25 terms and last year he filed to enter this November's election.</p>.<p>"I'm incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Don Young," US Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said in a statement.</p>.<p>"He was a passionate champion of his home state of Alaska, but he was also a mentor who, as the Dean of the House, had more institutional knowledge of Congress than anyone I know," Scalise said.</p>.<p>US Representative Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, said on Twitter: "His fiercely independent voice for Alaska and one of a kind wit and character will be missed."</p>.<p>Young was born in California in 1933 and moved to Alaska in 1959, shortly after statehood.</p>.<p>In Congress, he was known for directing billions of dollars of federal money to Alaska, the largest state in the country but with one of the smallest populations.</p>.<p>In late 2020, Young was diagnosed with Covid-19 after he had earlier ridiculed the disease as a "beer virus."</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>US Republican Representative Don Young, who was first elected to Congress in 1973 and was its longest-serving current member, died on Friday, his office said in a statement.</p>.<p>The 88-year-old congressman died while traveling home to Alaska, his office said.</p>.<p>"Don Young's legacy as a fighter for the state will live on, as will his fundamental goodness and honor. We will miss him dearly," the statement said.</p>.<p>His office did not give the cause of death. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Young lost consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle and could not be resuscitated. The newspaper report cited Jack Ferguson, who had served as Young's chief of staff.</p>.<p>Young was Alaska's only member in the House of Representatives. The longest-serving member of the current US Congress, according to his website, he represented Alaska for 25 terms and last year he filed to enter this November's election.</p>.<p>"I'm incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Don Young," US Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said in a statement.</p>.<p>"He was a passionate champion of his home state of Alaska, but he was also a mentor who, as the Dean of the House, had more institutional knowledge of Congress than anyone I know," Scalise said.</p>.<p>US Representative Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, said on Twitter: "His fiercely independent voice for Alaska and one of a kind wit and character will be missed."</p>.<p>Young was born in California in 1933 and moved to Alaska in 1959, shortly after statehood.</p>.<p>In Congress, he was known for directing billions of dollars of federal money to Alaska, the largest state in the country but with one of the smallest populations.</p>.<p>In late 2020, Young was diagnosed with Covid-19 after he had earlier ridiculed the disease as a "beer virus."</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>