Longtime Virginia Congressman Who Derided Trump As ‘Soulless’ Dead At 75

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), 75, who staved off a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to lead Democrats on House Oversight Committee, died on Wednesday from esophageal cancer.

Connolly had served as the representative for Virginia’s 11th congressional district —which contains nearly all of Fairfax County — since 2009. The home of federal workers, the 11th district was the wealthiest congressional district in the nation from 2003 to 2013. Prior to that he had served as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2003. According to fivethirtyeight, he voted 100% of the time with former President Joe Biden. He won decisively in every congressional election except in 2010, when he narrowly defeated his GOP opponent.

“It is with immense sadness that we share that our devoted and loving father, husband, brother, friend, and public servant, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family,” read a statement from Connolly’s family.

pic.twitter.com/jpWKyDUzEN

— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) May 21, 2025

Connolly, as a top Democrat on the Oversight committee, became well-known for his outspoken opposition to President Donald Trump.

In April 2019, Connelly spoke on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with host Wolf Blitzer. He called President Trump “the soulless occupant of the Oval Office,” then referred to the “amoral narcissistic kind of tendencies coming out of that office.” Meanwhile, he said of Joe Biden, “You can give him a complex subject and he get to the heart of it faster than anybody I know. The idea that he is not an intelligent man is simply false. And Mr. Trump is going to learn that the hard way.”

In December 2019, Connolly voted to impeach President Trump, saying:

To extort a foreign country to investigate your political opponent is an unconstitutional abuse of power. To solicit foreign interference in an American election is an unconstitutional abuse of power. … The delicate balance of power that underpins our democracy is threatened when a President disregards the Constitution by obstructing Congress to cover up illegal behavior. In doing that, President Trump violated his oath.

In April 2024, when some Republicans considered the idea of renaming Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. after Trump, Connolly reacted, “Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat who reps part of Dulles, weighs in on GOP bill to rename the airport after Trump.

"Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I'd suggest they find a federal prison."@Axios https://t.co/GGYFT8qJnv

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) April 2, 2024

His family says that his contributions to his community, including his fight for the extension of DC’s train system to the airport, will be his legacy.

“As a county supervisor, Mr. Connolly was one of the earliest proponents of extending Metrorail’s Silver Line from the inner suburbs to Washington Dulles International Airport. Elected to Congress in 2008, he helped secure additional funding for 23.2 miles of Silver Line expansion,” the Washington Post noted.