Bob Packwood, a Republican from Oregon who served in the Senate for

27 years before resigning in shame due to accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct, passed away on Saturday at the age of 93. His family sent media outlets an obituary announcing his passing. The cause of death was not revealed. Packwood’s career followed a well-known pattern in Washington: a lengthy history of legislative success, followed by a dramatic decline brought on by personal wrongdoing that no amount of policy success could undo.He was once a prominent member of the Senate Finance Committee, a supporter of comprehensive tax reform, and a moderate Republican who disagreed with his party on social issues.

In the end, none of it mattered.Over two dozen women, both acquaintances and former employees, accused Packwood of making unwanted or uninvited sexual advances.Two weeks after his reelection in 1992, the Washington Post published testimonies from accusers, bringing the accusations to the public’s attention.By 1993, the Senate Ethics Committee had begun a formal investigation.Packwood had left the chamber he had entered in 1968 as a 36-year-old upstart by September 1995.Sen. Wayne L. Morse, a Democrat who had served in the Senate for 23 years, was narrowly defeated by Packwood in his first Senate contest.Packwood, who was the great-grandson of a participant in the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, established himself as a Republican who was prepared to take on members of his own party.After President Ronald Reagan publicly accused him of alienating women, African Americans, and Jews, the White House supported a primary opponent.Organizations like Planned Parenthood praised him for his support of abortion rights, which was uncommon for a Republican at the time.He was a key player in the comprehensive tax reform of 1986 that reduced the highest income tax bracket and did away with numerous itemized deductions.