Longtime Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., a leading progressive voice on the environment and climate change, died Thursday from “complications of his cancer treatment,” his office announced in a statement. He was 77.
First elected to Congress in 2002, Grijalva won re-election 11 times. He rose to become chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, a post he held from 2015 to 2019, and most recently was the top Democrat on the committee. He also was the longest-serving co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, from 2009 to 2019, in addition to being a senior member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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“He was steadfast in his commitment to produce lasting change through environmental policies — as he would say, ‘It’s for the babies.’ He led the Natural Resources Committee without fear of repercussion, but with an urgency of the consequences of inaction,” his staff said in a statement.
“His strong belief was that no matter where you’re from, one truth unites us all: everyone deserves the freedom to live a healthy life, and every child deserves a safe and fair chance at their future,” the statement said.
Grijalva is the second House Democrat to die in office this month. First-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, suddenly died March 5 after he attended President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress the night before.
The Republican majority in the House has been extremely tight this Congress. Grijalva’s death means the Republicans control 218 seats and the Democrats control 213.
Grijalva represented Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, a sprawling border region that stretched from Tucson to Yuma and also included suburbs outside Phoenix.
Grijalva was born south of Tucson on the historic Canoa Ranch, now a conservation park that bears his name. His father, a migrant worker from Mexico, had immigrated to the United States through the Bracero labor program. He and his wife, Ramona, have three daughters.
It was in Tucson where he began his career in public service as a community organizer. He chaired the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board for six years before he served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors for more than a decade.
Grijalva’s health had been declining over the past year. In April, he announced that his physician had diagnosed him with cancer after he had sought medical treatment for a persistent cough.
“This diagnosis has been difficult to process,” Grijalva said at the time, “but I am confident in the vigorous course of treatment that my medical team has developed, and I’ve begun my journey to fight this cancer.”
