Dennis Hastert, the Illinois representative who became the longest-serving Republican speaker of the House, died Saturday at his home, according to the Kendall County, Illinois, coroner’s office. He was 84.
Following his decades-long congressional career, Hastert was embroiled in a child sex scandal that led to him being sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Hastert was released in July 2017 and lived out of the public eye until his death.
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Congressional history
Hastert’s first attempt at a House seat ended in failure in 1980, when he finished third in a Republican primary. But he later won the seat after his predecessor had to be replaced after suffering a stroke, according to The New York Times.
Hastert joined the House leadership team in 1995 as chief assistant to Rep. Tom Delay, R-Texas, who had become the House whip when Republicans took over in 1994 after 40 years of Democratic control. Hastert became speaker in 1998 after a dual shakeup in the leadership ranks: Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., stepped down in the wake of unexpected Republican losses in the 1998 midterms, and his chosen successor, Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., resigned from Congress because of a scandal over an extramarital affair. Republicans turned to Hastert as they sought to stabilize their legislative majority.
He developed an unofficial rule that was known as the Hastert Plan, according to The Times. It disallowed advancing legislation unless a majority of Republicans supported it, even if it had enough votes to pass.
Hastert’s time as speaker spanned several major historical events, including the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Middle East invasion following the hijackings. In 2003, he also pushed an expansion of Medicare to cover prescription drug costs. Hastert saw this as a way of taking away Democrats’ advantage on social issues, The Times reported.
In June 2006, Hastert became the longest-serving Republican speaker, surpassing Rep. Joseph Gurney Cannon, R-Ill., who held the post from 1903 to 1911. But later that year, he lost the speakership after Democrats won a majority in the House, bolstered by accusations that Hastert and other Republican leaders didn’t appropriately act on allegations that Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., acted inappropriately with male House pages.
After Republicans lost the majority, Hastert said he wouldn’t seek the minority leader role. In October 2007, Hastert announced his resignation from Congress, triggering a special election for his seat.
Hastert then began a career as a corporate director, lobbyist, consultant and motivational speaker.
Sexual abuse scandal
Hastert kept a relatively low profile until May 2015, when the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois unsealed a seven-page indictment charging Hastert with hush money payments and lying to the FBI.
The documents alleged that Hastert unlawfully withdrew money, totaling $3.5 million, to give to an unnamed subject, and then lied to federal agents about the purpose of those withdrawals. Ten months after the indictment, a woman alleged that as a high school teacher and coach before he was elected to Congress, Hastert had sexually abused her now-deceased brother. Three other victims spoke out about similar experiences.
Hastert pleaded guilty to the charges from the indictment after reaching a plea agreement. Soon after his plea, Hastert admitted to the sexual abuse allegations.
“I wanted to apologize for the boys I mistreated when I was their coach,” Hastert said. “What I did was wrong, and I regret it. They looked to me, and I took advantage of them.”
As the judge handed down Hastert’s 15-month federal prison sentence, he repeatedly called Hastert a “serial child molester” who violated the trust of his athletes and misled authorities.
Hastert was released from prison in June 2017. He faced several lawsuits from accusers following his release, including one in which the accusers said Hastert sexually abused him in a public bathroom when he was in the fourth grade.
