The Man, the Record, and the Fall

Bob Packwood died Saturday at age 93. His family announced the death via an obituary sent to media outlets, according to OPB, which reported the news on June 6, 2026. No additional details were provided.

Packwood served in the U.S. Senate for 27 years — elected from Oregon in 1968, resigned in September 1995.

He was not a standard-issue Republican. He was a social moderate and fiscal conservative who routinely voted across party lines, according to The Guardian. He was the leading Republican advocate of abortion rights in the Senate. Planned Parenthood praised him. Women's groups across the country lauded him — right up until they couldn't.

What He Actually Built

The legislative accomplishments are real.

As chair and ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Packwood was a deal-maker. His signature achievement was the Tax Reform Act of 1986 — legislation that lowered the top income tax bracket and wiped out a mountain of itemized deductions, according to The Guardian. It was a bipartisan overhaul that tax policy wonks still cite today.

He seriously considered a 1980 presidential run. He was a significant figure in American political history.

His great-grandfather was a delegate to Oregon's 1857 Constitutional Convention. He was, in short, Oregon political royalty.

The Scandal

In 1993, the Senate Ethics Committee launched an investigation. More than two dozen women — former employees and acquaintances — accused Packwood of making unwanted sexual advances, according to The Guardian.

The investigation widened beyond the harassment allegations to include other forms of official misconduct.

Packwood initially refused to resign. He said, according to The Guardian, that he didn't want to be remembered only for the controversy. He'd served 27 years and wanted credit for it.

He didn't get to make that call. He resigned in September 1995.

He then launched a lobbying business in Washington. By The Guardian's account, it became a lucrative operation.

What Democrats Are Saying

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who replaced Packwood in 1996, didn't pull punches. "His horrible history as documented in his own diaries will forever overshadow that public record. Simply put, historians' first line about Bob Packwood must include those women who he abused and assaulted for years and years," Wyden said, according to The Guardian.

Wyden also acknowledged Packwood's record on abortion rights and tax reform deserves praise.

Coverage Questions

The AP headline called him a "maverick" — which is accurate — but leads with the scandal. The Guardian's headline does the same. The 1986 Tax Reform Act was a genuinely consequential piece of fiscal legislation that most Americans alive today have never heard attributed to Packwood. A Republican senator drove a major bipartisan tax overhaul that simplified the code and lowered rates.

Conversely, some conservative-leaning outlets will be tempted to lionize the abortion rights angle while soft-pedaling the misconduct.

More than two dozen women made accusations. His own diaries corroborated the behavior, per Wyden's statement. This wasn't a political hit job. The evidence was sufficient to force a 27-year senator out of office.

The Pre-#MeToo Angle

The Guardian correctly notes that Packwood's case came before the #MeToo movement reframed public discourse on workplace misconduct. He was an early example of documented private behavior destroying a public career.

The Reckoning

Bob Packwood was a complicated figure. He built real things. The 1986 tax reform mattered. His record on abortion rights was consistent over decades, not performative. He was a fiscal conservative who crossed the aisle when he thought it was right.

He also harassed and assaulted women over a period of years. His own diaries confirmed it. Twenty-plus accusers made credible allegations.

Both facts stand.