WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a rice farmer who served in political office in California for more than two decades, died suddenly Monday, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
LaMalfa was 65.
"I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member, a great, great, great member, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away yesterday, as you probably have heard," Trump said Tuesday morning at a gathering with House Republicans at the Kennedy Center.
“He was the leader of the Western Caucus, a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water," Trump said. He added that LaMalfa was also a "true defender of American children. He was a defender of everybody. And our hearts go out to his wife, Jill, and his entire family. He voted with me 100% of the time."
Earlier, members of the House GOP leadership team confirmed LaMalfa's death as they paid tribute on social media.
"Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 leader, said on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”
The cause of death was not immediately clear. In a statement, the Butte County, California, Sheriff’s Office said it got a call Monday night from LaMalfa's residence about a “medical emergency.” LaMalfa was transported to Enloe hospital, where he died during surgery, the sheriff's office said.
Right before the holidays, LaMalfa appeared in good spirits, joking with his colleagues and reporters.
With LaMalfa’s death and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation, the GOP's already razor-thin majority becomes even smaller in the House, further complicating the job of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his team.
At Tuesday's Kennedy Center gathering, Trump also mentioned that Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Baird, 80, and his wife were recovering after a "pretty bad" car accident. He wished them both well.
The party breakdown is now 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats, meaning Johnson can lose only two Republicans on any vote. There are two open seats: a Texas seat formerly held by Democrat Rep. Sylvester Turner that is set for a runoff Jan. 31, and former Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s New Jersey seat. The New Jersey seat, which Sherrill resigned from after she was elected governor, is set for a special election on April 16.
LaMalfa’s death could trigger a special election under the current lines in the Republican-leaning seat in Northern California. But the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed new maps into law last year that are set to go into effect for the fall midterm elections.
The new map makes it much harder for Republicans to hold the 1st district.
LaMalfa's death was a shock to friends and colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was roommates with LaMalfa in the Legislature in Sacramento and later served with him in Congress, told NBC News that he was "devastated."
"He’s probably one of the most genuine, most honest guys you would ever meet," McCarthy said in a phone interview Tuesday.
He said: "He was a rice farmer. He represented his district so well. He would travel anywhere to talk to anybody. He went up and down the state. We were together campaigning earlier this year, but he was my roommate in Sacramento, and we have been dear friends ever since."
LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer, first won a seat in the state Assembly in 2002 and would briefly serve in the state Senate from 2010 to 2012, when he won election to Congress.
