WASHINGTON — Former Republican U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, who represented Seattle’s conservative east-side suburbs for six terms in Congress, died Wednesday after suffering a pulmonary embolism in her Virginia apartment, said a statement from her family.
She was 66.
Dunn, a favorite of both Bush White Houses, was the state’s ranking Republican in Congress when she retired in 2004. She told The Associated Press at the time she was pursuing a new career and planned to enjoy time with her new husband and baby granddaughter.
“We’re just trying to pull ourselves together,” said son Reagan Dunn, a King County councilman. “It was a total shock.
“She gave her whole life giving to other people. She touched a lot of lives and did a lot for her country.”
Dunn, who turned down a plea from President George W. Bush to run for the U.S. Senate in 2004, was known for her work on tax issues, promoting small and women-owned businesses, and sponsoring the Amber Alert bill for locating missing children.
She was an influential senior member of the House Republican caucus, serving as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, vice chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee and a member of the caucus campaign team. She was a frequent spokeswoman for the House, once giving the Republican response to a State of the Union Address by President Bill Clinton. She helped run three Republican national conventions.
“While I never took a pledge on term limits, I do believe that our nation is better served if from time to time we senior members step aside to allow individuals with fresh ideas to challenge the status quo in Congress,” she said when she retired.
Bush praised Dunn on her retirement from Congress, calling her “a superb legislator and a strong leader who has stood for the best of Washington State’s values and who has improved the lives of its people.”
Dunn’s political career was a series of firsts: first women to chair the Washington State Republican Party; first freshman woman to win a place in the House Republican leadership team; and the highest ranking Republican women in leadership as the Vice Chairman of the Conference.
She is survived by her husband, Keith Thomson; sons Bryant Dunn, Reagan Dunn, Angus Thomson; and two grandchildren.
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