(Bloomberg) -- Former Wyoming U.S. Senator Mike Enzi has died, according to an announcement on his official Twitter page. He was 77.
The former senator had recently sustained serious injuries while riding a bicycle, his family said in a statement earlier on Monday.
Enzi came to the Senate in 1997, after narrowly defeating John Barrasso in a Republican primary -- Barrasso would later win his own Senate seat -- and then winning the general election with 54% of the vote.
Enzi led two committees during his time in the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel, as well as the Senate Budget Committee. Enzi was a frequent advocate of reducing federal spending growth, and in his first address to Congress called for passage of a balanced budget amendment. He was also a staunch opponent of efforts under the Obama administration to, as he put it, “use the EPA to regulate coal use out of existence.”
Enzi said in May 2019 he wouldn't seek a fifth term in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday, following news of Enzi's bike accident, praised Enzi's “generosity and kindness” during his time in the Senate, as well as his legislative accomplishments. “I know members on both sides are very much thinking of Mike at this time. We are praying for his health and for the entire Enzi family.”
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