Longtime Northern Virginia Rep. Gerald E. Connolly died Wednesday at age 75 after a battle with cancer.
Mr. Connolly’s family said in a statement that he “passed away peacefully at his home” Wednesday morning, surrounded by family.
Mr. Connolly, whose political career spanned three decades, announced in November that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. He said at the time that the diagnosis came as a surprise because he had no symptoms other than intermittent abdominal aches and pains.
Initial treatment was successful, but Mr. Connolly announced last month that the cancer had returned and that he would not run for reelection to the House in 2026. He also said he would step back from his role as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He said that after “grueling treatments,” he learned that the cancer had returned and that he decided to step down from his post on the committee and would not seek reelection.
“With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years,” he said.
The spirited and at times bullheaded Fairfax Democrat became known for his voluble nature and willingness to engage in spirited debates. In one hearing, he accused Republicans of engaging in a witch hunt against the IRS, asking a witness if they had ever read Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.”
“I am heartbroken over the loss of my dear friend,” said Democratic Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia. “To me, he exemplified the very best of public service.” He said Mr. Connolly “met every challenge with tenacity and purpose, including his final battle with cancer, which he faced with courage, grace and quiet dignity.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Mr. Connolly was a “hardworking, humble and honorable public servant” who used his perch on the Oversight Committee “to push back against the unprecedented attacks on the federal workers in his district and across the country.”
Mr. Connolly was first elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1995. He steered the transition of the county’s Tysons Corner from a traffic-heavy mall area to a downtown business hub.
In 2003, Mr. Connolly was elected chairman, and he continued pushing for transportation investment that had been debated among officials for decades. He sought billions in state and federal dollars to expand the Washington area’s Metrorail service to Washington Dulles International Airport, going through Tysons Corner.
The first phase of Metro’s Silver Line to Tysons opened in 2014 and was extended to Dulles eight years later.
As the extension opened in 2022, Mr. Connolly said: “Doing big things is difficult — the world is filled with naysayers.”
He was elected to Congress in 2008 after flipping an open Republican-held seat by nearly 42,000 votes.
Mr. Connolly got his first taste of Congress while working as a staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 1980s. Decades later, he became a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Besides his work on the Oversight Committee, he led Democrats on subcommittees on government innovation and information technology. He was a fierce defender of the federal workforce — Fairfax County alone is home to about 80,000 federal employees and thousands of contractors.
Mr. Connolly cosponsored the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act, which requires federal agencies to allow a portion of their employees to telework at least one day a week. In 2014, he cosponsored another bill that reformed federal IT management and has since saved the government billions of dollars, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Mr. Connolly reached a new milestone late last year when he was chosen ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, defeating Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York for the position.
As the top Democrat on the panel, Mr. Connolly called on inspectors general to investigate President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. He and other Democrats also introduced a pair of resolutions demanding that the Trump administration turn over documents and information about billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s potential conflicts of interest and the firings of federal workers.
Mr. Connolly’s family said he lived his life to give back to others and improve his Northern Virginia community.
“He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just,” they said. “He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many.”
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
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