Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) said in a statement Monday that he was “shaken by the loss” of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), his New Jersey colleague in the Senate who died earlier in the day due to complications from viral pneumonia.
“Today I am shaken by the loss of the Senior Senator from New Jersey – a colleague and my good friend and ally. Frank Lautenberg loved his job and the people who elected him 5 times, who trusted him to always be on their side, and he always was. He was a man for New Jersey, a man for his time, one of the greatest generation, the last in the Senate to have served in World War II.
“His story was an American story. He was a man who joined two of his boyhood friends to found a successful business. He did well, and gave something back and New Jersey loved and admired him for what he did for this nation, what he did to help them build a better life for themselves and their families. Whether it was his landmark drunk driving law, the 21st Century GI Bill, or the “Toxic Right to Know” law empowering the public to know what pollutants are being released into their neighborhood, he was a fighter for New Jersey’s working families and the causes he believed in. And, in death, New Jersey’s love and admiration for him will not diminish. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Bonnie and his family.”
