Thad Cochran death: Trump pays tribute to long-serving US senator and 'friend'

Longtime former Republican senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi has died at age 81.

The death of the Republicans comes nearly 14 months after he resigned from his Senate seat in April 2018, citing health concerns. That resignation put an end to 45 years in which the late senator served in Congress.

Cochran "passed away peacefully early Thursday morning in Oxford", a statement from the office of his successor, senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, reads.

Donald Trump, soon after landing in Colorado on a trip to the Air Force Academy there, tweeted about the death, calling the late senator a "friend".

"Very sad to hear the news on the passing of my friend, Senator Thad Cochran," Mr Trump wrote. "He was a real Senator with incredible values — even flew back to Senate from Mississippi for important Healthcare Vote when he was desperately ill. Thad never let our Country (or me) down!"

Ms Hyde-Smith's office noted in the statement announcing Cochran's death that the late senator was a "Navy veteran who served as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee" and that his "family extends its gratitude for the support shown to the Senator by Mississippians over the years."

Cochran was first elected to the Senate in 1978, and was at the time the first Republican in more than a century to be elected to statewide office in the state of Mississippi. He served for three terms in the House of Representatives before that election.

At the time of his retirement, he was the 10th longest serving senator in American history, and said in a statement: "It has been a great honour to serve the people of Mississippi and our country. I've done my best to make decisions in the best interest of our nation, and my beloved state. My top concern has always been my constituents of Mississippi."

Cochran's time in the Senate is remembered in part for his part in helping ot channel more than $100 billion to Mississippi and other Gulf states following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and for successfully using earmarks to help fund highway projects and economic development grants in his home state. He also used that tactic to bring research money to universities in his state.

In response to his death, senator Johnny Isakson wrote that Cochran was an inspiration for him when he joined the Senate.

"When I became a member of the Senate, Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran was who I watched," Mr Isakson, who serves Georgia, tweeted. "He taught me and so many others a great deal about effective service in the US Senate. My prayers are with his family."

The University of Mississippi also remembered Cochran after the news of his death, mourning the loss of one of their prominent alumni.

"The Ole Miss Family has lost a legend with the passing of a great Mississippian and UM alumus in former US Sen Thad Cochran," the school tweeted. "His unwavering service and contributions to the university and the state are part of the lasting legacy he leaves behind."