California GOP Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies at 65

By Sarah Ferris, Kate Bolduan, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

(CNN) — Doug LaMalfa, a longtime Republican congressman from Northern California, has died, House GOP leadership announced Tuesday. He was 65.

As a fourth-generation rice farmer and business owner, LaMalfa was a respected voice in Washington on agriculture and rural communities, including as chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. He was influential in Congress’ response to the deadly wildfires that struck his home state — including his sprawling district, which includes Chico, California — in recent years.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a close friend of the congressman, confirmed LaMalfa’s death in a statement Tuesday.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” Emmer wrote in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

Rep. Richard Hudson, the House GOP campaign chief and another close friend of LaMalfa, remembered the congressman Tuesday as “a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California.”

“Doug was a principled conservative and a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California. He was never afraid to fight for rural communities, farmers, and working families. Doug brought grit, authenticity, and conviction to everything he did in public service,” Hudson wrote in a statement, noting that the two served on the Agriculture Committee together and enjoyed discussing all things cars, including their shared love of NASCAR. “I will deeply miss my ‘amigo.’”

LaMalfa’s absence will reverberate immediately in the narrowly divided House. Speaker Mike Johnson is overseeing one of the thinnest House majorities in history and can now only afford to lose two Republicans in any party-line vote on the floor. The current House makeup stands at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

California will need to hold a special election to replace LaMalfa in the coming weeks. The seat is likely to remain in GOP hands: LaMalfa represented a district that President Donald Trump won by roughly 25 points in the last election. While California Democrats have redrawn the district for the 2026 midterms, the special election is expected to be held under the current lines — which means a safe Republican seat.

President Donald Trump ordered that the flag flying above the White House be lowered to half-staff to honor the late congressman.

Trump opened his remarks at a House GOP member retreat Tuesday by paying tribute to the late congressman.

“I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member, great, great, great member, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away yesterday, as you probably have heard,” the president said, speaking from the stage of the Kennedy Center, which the board recently renamed to include Trump.

The president praised LaMalfa’s leadership and policy focus, highlighting his role in Western issues.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus, a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water,” Trump said. “A true defender of American children. He was a defender of everybody.”

Trump also offered condolences to LaMalfa’s family and reflected on their political alignment, saying the congressman “voted with me 100% of the time.”

While the president said he considered postponing his Tuesday morning remarks to the full conference, he moved forward in remembrance of LaMalfa.

“I was really, I was really saddened by his passing and was thinking about not even doing the speech in his honor, but then I decided that I have to do it in his honor. I’ll do it in his honor, because he would have wanted it that way,” Trump said.

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.