Bob Packwood, Oregon Republican senator who resigned amid sexual assault investigation, dies at 93

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Bob Packwood, a former Oregon senator who resigned amid a sexual assault investigation, has died at 93 years old. 

According to reporting by the Oregonian, Packwood died at a hospice facility in California, where he and his wife owned a home.

Born in Portland, Packwood entered politics in 1960 as Multnomah County chairman of the Republican Central Committee, then served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, then 24 years in the U.S. Packwood was initially seen as an advocate for women's rights — including championing reproductive rights, the Equal Rights Amendment and family leave — when a Washington Post investigation upended that narrative. 

Former staffers and lobbyists alleged decades' worth of uninvited sexual advances, including abruptly grabbing and kissing them, including with an underage intern. Many staffers left, with one telling the Washington Post: "He couldn't seem to help himself... I cannot tell you how many people sat down with him and said, 'You are going to come to a bad end. All your career's work on women's issues and on progressive issues is going to turn to dust.' "

Packwood had also attempted to obstruct the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics investigation, balking at submitting his diary. The committee got the diary, but it had been edited to remove alleged references to sexual encounters and abuse.

As a result, the Senate Ethics Committee released an indictment and unanimously voted to expel Packwood, who resigned before that could happen. Packwood later blamed his alcoholism whilst addressing the allegations. 

Afterwards, Packwood became a lobbyist in Washington and helped kickstart the Oregon GOP’s annual Dorchester Conference.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, replaced Packwood, winning a seat in a special election. On Saturday, he released a statement, saying: 

“Sexual abuse and assault must never be tolerated in any era. Bob Packwood deservedly learned that lesson in the 1990s, albeit far too long after he hurt multiple women with his unforgivable acts,” Wyden said.

“As the Oregonian who replaced Bob Packwood in the Senate and on the Finance Committee, I acknowledge his commendable record on abortion rights and tax reform. But his horrible history as documented in his own diaries will forever overshadow that public record. Simply put, historians’ first line about Bob Packwood must include those women who he abused and assaulted for years and years.”

Resources for Sexual Assault Survivors

If you or someone you know have experienced sexual assault and need support, help is available.

• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673 or rainn.org, Open 24/7