Following a remarkable career that made headlines for all the wrong reasons, a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus has died at age 94.
Former Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel served for nearly five decades while facing multiple ethics violations.
The Harlem Democrat was censured by the House in 2010 after being convicted of 11 ethics violations related to financial misconduct.
Rangel represented New York in Congress from 1971 to 2017, becoming one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington despite his ethical troubles.
A Korean War veteran who earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, Rangel climbed the ranks to become the first African American to chair the influential Ways and Means Committee in 2007.
His lengthy political career was marked by both legislative achievements and scandal.
While many celebrate his civil rights advocacy, millions of others will remember that Rangel was hit with 13 counts of financial and fundraising misconduct in 2010.
Additionally, the House Ethics Committee found him guilty of 11 other violations.
These included failing to pay taxes on rental income from a Dominican Republic property and improperly using congressional resources for fundraising.
The House ultimately censured Rangel in December 2010, the most serious punishment short of expulsion.
Despite this formal condemnation, Rangel refused to resign and went on to win three more terms in his heavily Democrat district.
Rangel’s critics pointed to his ethics violations as another example of the double standards applied to powerful Washington insiders.
While ordinary Americans face severe consequences for tax evasion, Rangel continued his congressional career with minimal repercussions from voters in his district.
“I would like to believe he’s sick rather than just mean and evil,” Rangel once said about Vice President Dick Cheney, showing the harsh rhetoric he often employed against Republicans.
Before his censure, Rangel had built significant influence in Washington. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he controlled legislation affecting taxes, trade, Medicare, and Social Security.
He was part of New York’s “Gang of Four,” influential African American political figures that included former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and businessman Percy Sutton.
A vocal opponent of the Iraq War, Rangel frequently clashed with the Bush administration.
He also introduced the “Rangel Amendment” in 1987, targeting U.S. companies investing in apartheid South Africa.
This was one of several legislative initiatives that made him popular among Democrat voters.
Born in Harlem to a Puerto Rican father and African American mother, Rangel dropped out of high school before turning his life around after military service.
He later earned degrees from New York University and St. John’s University Law School, a transformation that appealed to his constituents.
After retiring from Congress in 2017, Rangel served as a statesman-in-residence at The City College of New York, which houses the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service. His wife Alma passed away last October, also at age 94.
Despite the corruption that marred his legacy, establishment Democrats have been quick to praise Rangel.
House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries called him “a patriot, hero, statesman, leader, trailblazer, change agent and champion for justice who made his beloved Harlem, the City of New York and the United States of America a better place for all.”
