Former Oregon Sen. Bob Packwood Passes Away
Packwood’s career followed a well-known pattern in Washington: a lengthy history of legislative success, followed by a dramatic decline brought on by personal wrongdoing that no amount of policy success could undo.
In the end, none of it mattered. Advertisement Over two dozen women, both acquaintances and former employees, accused Packwood of making unwanted or uninvited sexual advances.
Two weeks after his reelection in 1992, the Washington Post published testimonies from accusers, bringing the accusations to the public’s attention.
He was once a prominent member of the Senate Finance Committee, a supporter of comprehensive tax reform, and a moderate Republican who disagreed with his party on social issues
Advertisement Packwood had left the chamber he had entered in 1968 as a 36-year-old upstart by September 1995.
Sen. Wayne L. Morse, a Democrat who had served in the Senate for 23 years, was narrowly defeated by Packwood in his first Senate contest.
Packwood, who was the great-grandson of a participant in the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, established himself as a Republican who was prepared to take on members of his own party.
By 1993, the Senate Ethics Committee had begun a formal investigation
Organizations like Planned Parenthood praised him for his support of abortion rights, which was uncommon for a Republican at the time.
He was a key player in the comprehensive tax reform of 1986 that reduced the highest income tax bracket and did away with numerous itemized deductions.
From the Oregon House of Representatives to more than a quarter-century in the United States Senate, Bob Packwood was a consequential figure whose influence shaped generations of political leaders and public policy debates.
— Christine Drazan (@ChristineDrazan) June 8, 2026
As Oregon reflects on his life and legacy, I extend my…
He became chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 1980, and he even briefly contemplated running for president.
After President Ronald Reagan publicly accused him of alienating women, African Americans, and Jews, the White House supported a primary opponent
Investigators also looked into whether Packwood had used Senate employees to intimidate accusers into silence, asked lobbyists for jobs for his ex-wife, and interfered with the investigation by falsifying his personal diaries.
They were subpoenaed by the Ethics Committee. Packwood declined to cooperate.
In 1993, the Senate debated the subpoena for two days before passing a resounding, bipartisan vote of 94 to 6 to enforce it.
The diaries turned into the main arena of conflict
Then he requested intervention from the US Supreme Court.
William Rehnquist, Chief Justice, declined. The scandal grew after the diaries were turned over.
In 1996, Democrat Ron Wyden won a special election to replace him.
Packwood lost the battle when it went to the federal courts
Wyden, who still holds the seat Packwood vacated three decades ago, issued a statement that did not soften the diplomatic tone.
Simply put, historians’ first line about Bob Packwood must include those women who he abused and assaulted for years and years.”
Christine Drazan, an Oregon state senator and Republican candidate for governor, responded to the news on social media.
Before the Ethics Committee could finish its work and the Senate as a whole could decide whether to expel Packwood, he resigned in September 1995
“From the Oregon House of Representatives to more than a quarter-century in the United States Senate, Bob Packwood was a consequential figure whose influence shaped generations of political leaders and public policy debates. As Oregon reflects on his life and legacy, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” she wrote.
