Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator and champion of American bipartisanship, dies at 82

Former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman died Wednesday at the age of 82, his family confirmed.

“Former United States Senator Joseph I. Lieberman died this afternoon, March 27, 2024, in New York City due to complications from a fall,” his family stated, according to CNN's Jake Tapper.

“He was 82 years old. His beloved wife, Hadassah, and members of his family were with him as he passed. Senator Lieberman's love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest.”

Lieberman represented Connecticut as one of its U.S. senator from 1989 until 2013. He gained national notoriety as former Vice President Al Gore's running mate during the 2000 presidential election.

Had Gore won the presidential election, Lieberman would have become the first Jewish vice president and the highest-ranking member of the Jewish religion to serve in the U.S. government.

Lieberman served the majority of his career as a leading member of the Democratic Party, but successfully ran for reelection in 2006 after a far-left faction ousted him and selected businessman Ned Lamont for the nomination instead.  

In recent years, the former Connecticut senator was a co-founder and leader in the No Labels organization, which has sought to find a centrist, independent presidential ticket for the upcoming 2024 elections. He served as the organization's co-chairman.

Lieberman was liberal on some issues such as abortion and economic policies while on others he was a hawk who sided with former President George W. Bush’s vision to liberate Iraq. His hawkish foreign policy views became the target of the Democratic Party’s far left wing, ultimately leading to his ousting in 2006.

He then became an independent, won re-election and continued to serve in the U.S. Senate until 2013. During that time, and before, he was known for being a champion of bipartisanship and the center, even as Washington became more and more divided.

During his 2012 farewell speech, the then Connecticut senator called upon his colleagues and countrymen to unite.

“It is the partisan polarization of our politics which prevents us from making the principled compromises on which progress in a democracy depends, and right now, which prevents us from restoring our fiscal solvency as a nation,” Lieberman said. “We need bipartisan leadership to break the gridlock in Washington that will unleash all the potential that is in the American people.”