Figures from across the nation and political spectrum expressed shock and sorrow Tuesday over the sudden death of Congressman Doug LaMalfa, the Butte County Republican who'd represented California's 1st Congressional District since 2013. "He was with us right from the beginning," said President Donald Trump of LaMalfa, a reliable MAGA ally whose death leaves the GOP with a tenuous 218-213 margin in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The death of Doug LaMalfa, a seven-term Republican congressmember from Northern California, was announced Tuesday, hours after he was rushed to a Chico hospital. The sheriff's office in Butte County said it received a 911 call reporting a medical emergency at LaMalfa's home around 6:50 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5. The congressman was taken to Enloe Hospital, in Chico, and immediately underwent emergency surgery. He died during the surgery, the sheriff's office reported.