Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, a political icon known for his sharp wit and ability to bridge partisan divides, has passed away at the age of 93. Simpson died early on Friday after struggling to recover from a broken hip sustained in December. His family and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, where he served as a board member for 56 years, confirmed his death in a statement.
“He was an exceptionally generous man,” said Pete Simpson, Alan’s older brother, in the statement. “And by generous, I mean in every sense — giving his time, energy, and efforts, both in politics and in the family.”
Simpson, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney, was a major Republican figure from Wyoming, the least populous state. Unlike Cheney, Simpson was well-known for his humor. One of his memorable quips was, “We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.”
A political moderate by today’s standards, Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming for three terms, from 1979 to 1997. His tenure spanned the Republican Party’s resurgence under President Ronald Reagan, and Simpson played a significant role in uniting GOP senators to support the party’s legislative goals as a top Senate leader.
However, Simpson was more recognized for his independent views, often expressed with blunt certainty. A fiscal conservative who was critical of government assistance programs, he also supported abortion rights, a stance that made him less aligned with the conservative direction the GOP was heading during his later years in politics.
Simpson’s friendships crossed party lines, including with Robert Reich, the labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Norman Mineta, the transportation secretary under President George W. Bush.
Simpson and Mineta’s bond dated back to their Boy Scout days, when Mineta and his family were incarcerated in the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center near Simpson’s hometown of Cody, Wyoming, during World War II.
After retiring from politics, both Alan Simpson and Norman Mineta worked to raise awareness about the internment of around 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Mineta, who passed away in 2022, shared a memory where Simpson was asked about the biggest difference between them as a Republican and a Democrat. Simpson humorously responded, “Well, I wear size 15 shoes and he wears a size 8 and a half,” according to the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation.
Simpson was praised for his ability to cross party lines and build bipartisan support. His son, Colin Simpson, a former Wyoming House speaker, expressed how Simpson’s legacy of love, humor, compassion, and dedication was deeply rooted in family values. “Dad and Pete have anchored the extended Simpson family for decades, and we are so blessed and proud to have been part of the ride of a lifetime,” he said.
In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Simpson to co-chair a debt-reduction commission, which proposed a plan to save $4 trillion through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. However, the plan did not gain enough traction in Congress for serious consideration.
Standing at 6-foot-7, Alan Simpson was a physically imposing figure, once the tallest person in the U.S. Senate until Alabama Senator Luther Strange, who stands at 6-foot-9, took office in 2017.
Simpson’s stature in politics was equally significant, as he inherited a powerful legacy. His father, Milward Simpson, had served as a governor, U.S. senator, and state legislator, while his mother, Lorna Kooi Simpson, was the president of the Red Cross in Cody and served on the local planning commission.
“I saw Dad loved politics and the law, and I wanted to do that,” Simpson once reflected on his decision to pursue a career in politics.
Born in Denver in 1931, Simpson’s early years were marked by reckless behavior, including gun-shooting and vandalism in Cody, which led him into trouble with the law. However, he graduated from Cody High School in 1949 and went on to complete his studies at the University of Wyoming in 1954.
In the same year, he married Ann Schroll from Greybull, Wyoming, and joined the U.S. Army. Simpson served in the Fifth Infantry Division and the Second Armored “Hell on Wheels” Division in Germany.
Alan and Ann Simpson marked their 70th wedding anniversary with a community ice cream social in Cody, Wyoming, last summer, where they were joined by family and hundreds of other attendees at a local park.
After his service in the Army, Simpson earned a law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1958 and joined his father’s law practice, where he worked for nearly two decades. In 1964, he was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives and served there until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1976.
Simpson, a former football and basketball player at the University of Wyoming, often described politics as a “contact sport.”
“I’ve been called everything,” he said in 2003. “What the hell. If you don’t like the combat, get out.”
Simpson’s straightforwardness made him well-liked by voters. He was known as a well-read, dedicated, and sometimes tough politician who took on important issues such as immigration, veterans’ affairs, and environmental matters.
Simpson served on the Immigration Subcommittee and the Veterans Affairs Committee, among others.
He was an advocate for reconsidering sentences for juveniles, opposing life without parole for them. He argued that after spending 20 to 30 years in prison, individuals should have the opportunity to demonstrate personal growth. “When they get to be 30 or 40 and they’ve been in prison for 20 or 30 years, and they’ve learned how to read and do other things, why not?” he said in 2009.
By 1995, Simpson decided not to run for re-election. Reflecting on his decision, he admitted, “Part of me said I could do this for another three or four years but not six. The old fire in the belly is out. The edge is off.”
Politics ran in the Simpson family. His older brother, Pete, was a historian at the University of Wyoming, served in the Wyoming House, and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1986. Alan’s son, Colin, became speaker of the Wyoming House, and his nephew, Milward, led the state parks department.
After leaving the Senate, Simpson taught courses on politics and the media at Harvard University and the University of Wyoming, often encouraging students to stay engaged in politics.
In 2022, President Joe Biden honored Simpson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Simpson is survived by his wife, Ann; his brother, Pete; his sons, Colin and William; and his daughter, Susan Simpson Gallagher.