|
 Coburn, 65, said in a statement that the disease was not the
reason he decided to resign. The senator is a three-time cancer
survivor, according to his senatorial website's profile.
"This decision isn't about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes
and desires," Coburn said. "I look forward to finishing this year
strong."
His departure will leave two years left in his term but that is not
seen likely to alter the political calculus of the Senate since
Oklahoma is solidly Republican. The United States holds its next
round of congressional elections this November.
Staunchly anti-abortion, Coburn has also fought hard to eliminate
what he viewed as waste in government, according to his website's
profile.
It says Coburn has offered "more amendments than any of his
colleagues," including one opposing the so-called Bridge to Nowhere
in Alaska, and another against funding for a museum commemorating
the 1960s Woodstock music festival in New York state.
Coburn was one of several Republicans who sharply criticized efforts
by the Republican conservative Tea Party movement to shut down the
government last fall as a way to demand that the Affordable Care
Act, commonly known as Obamacare, be defunded.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Coburn an
"extraordinary man and a deeply serious lawmaker."
[to top of second column] |
"Tom Coburn is without question one of the most intelligent,
principled, and decent men in modern Senate history," the Kentucky
lawmaker said in a statement.
A physician who says he has delivered 4,000 babies, Coburn was first
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, and served
three terms, according to the website's profile.
He left the House after his third term, but then ran for Senate in
2004, the profile said. He is a ranking member of the Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; additional reporting by Eric M.
Johnson; editing by Lisa Shumaker, Ken Wills and W Simon)
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