Rep. Jackie Walorski, R- Ind., and three other people, including two members of her staff, were killed in a car crash Wednesday afternoon, according to the Elkhart County, Ind., Sheriff’s Office.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am sharing this statement from the Office of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in an announcement on Twitter, posting a picture that included the following text:
“Dean Swihart, Jackie’s husband, was just informed by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s office that Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon… Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Walorski, 58, was involved in a two-vehicle crash on Route 19 south of Route 119, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of a northbound vehicle traveled left of the centerline and collided head-on with the sport-utility vehicle carrying Walorski and staffers Zachery Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28. All three occupants in the southbound vehicle died of their injuries. Edith Schmucker, 56, was the sole occupant of the other vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff in memory of Walorski.
“A lifelong Hoosier, Congresswoman Walorski lived a life of service: whether caring for impoverished children in Romania, representing her community in the Indiana Statehouse or serving nearly a decade in the House,” Pelosi said in a statement. “She passionately brought the voices of her north Indiana constituents to the Congress, and she was admired by colleagues on both sides of the aisle for her personal kindness.”
Walorski had served in Congress since 2013 representing the 2nd Congressional District. She was the top Republican on the House Ethics Committee and was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The South Bend, Ind., native worked in journalism and academia before being elected to Congress in 2012. A religious conservative, she was educated at Christian colleges and did mission work before coming to Capitol Hill.
McCarthy appointed her in early 2021 to the ranking Republican spot on the sensitive Ethics Committee, an evenly divided panel that handles investigations of lawmakers.
“I’m honored to take on the important responsibility of holding members of the House to the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct,” she said in a statement upon receiving that appointment.
Fellow Republicans expressed grief Wednesday shortly after news of Walorski’s death was made public.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called Walorski a “good friend.”
“She was an incredible public servant for Hoosiers and leader within the Republican Party,” McDaniel said in a statement. “The entire Republican National Committee is praying for her family, as well as the families of the two staff who were also tragically killed.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., tweeted that he was “truly devastated.”
“Jackie loved Hoosiers and devoted her life to fighting for them,” he wrote. “I’ll never forget her spirit, her positive attitude, and most importantly her friendship.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., tweeted that he was praying for the families of Walorski and her staffers.
“Devastated to hear the horrible news of the passing of Jackie Walorski and her two staffers,” Scalise wrote. “She was a dear friend who loved serving the people of Indiana in Congress.”
In the event of a Republican takeover of the House after the November midterm elections, Walorski would have been on track to chair the Ways and Means worker and family support subcommittee. Walorski, an evangelical Christian, was known for her conservative stances on social issues.
Earlier this month, she opposed the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, calling Democrats’ stance on abortion “dangerous” and extreme.”
“At Speaker Pelosi’s urging, House Democrats once again voted to greenlight abortion at any time in pregnancy, anywhere in the country, and bankrolled by American taxpayers,” Walorski said in a statement. “Abortion on demand is a direct affront to pro-life values and Americans’ conscience rights.”
A Donald Trump supporter, Walorski voted against impeaching the former president in 2021 for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which resulted in the deaths of one police officer and four others and injured more than 100 law enforcement officers. She also voted against confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election.
(c) 2022, The Washington Post · Eugene Scott
She was a very good member of Congress. I used to commute on that stretch. It’s straight, well-paved, and flat with no road hazards. The driver of the car that veered into her lane and hit her was probably distracted or had some kind of seizure.
Today’s new police report is that her own driver was the one who veered off.
V’sheim elohim acheirim lo sazkiru, lo yishama al picha!!!
Shoitim!!!
“Jackie was killed in a car accident this afternoon.” Accident? More likely, killed.