- Doug LaMalfa, California Republican congressman, dies at 65.
- Represented rural northern California in House.
- Known for water and forestry policy work.
- Death confirmed by Republican officials' statements.
In his sixth term as the representative for California's first congressional district, LaMalfa was a fourth-generation rice farmer who had previously served in the state assembly. He was a member of the House committees on transportation and infrastructure, agriculture, and natural resources.
The Butte County Sheriff's Office reported that LaMalfa passed away during an emergency surgical procedure at a nearby hospital on Monday night after being evacuated there by emergency responders. No cause of death has been disclosed.
In a statement, the sheriff's office claimed that just before 7 p.m. on January 5, it received a call regarding a medical issue at LaMalfa's residence. After being taken to a Chico hospital, he had emergency surgery and passed away during the process.
“Doug was a principled conservative and a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California,”
Hudson said in a statement.
“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.”
His unexpected death narrows the Republican majority in the House to 218-213, giving the GOP leadership even less room to enact its legislative agenda. Republicans can now afford to lose just two votes on party-line measures with the departure of Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday.
In a social media message, Minnesota House majority leader Tom Emmer honored LaMalfa.
Shortly before Donald Trump was supposed to address the House Republicans at a GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center in Washington, the news of LaMalfa's dying was announced. Trump claimed to have dedicated the speech to LaMalfa.
“I was really saddened by his passing, and was thinking about not even doing the speech in his honor, but then decided that I have to do it in his honor,”
Trump told the lawmakers.
“I’ll do it in his honor, because he would have wanted it that way.”
Longtime Trump supporter LaMalfa voted against recognizing the results of the 2020 election. He received both praise and criticism for his doubts about the causes of the climate problem. He had supported legislation to stop federal taxes on fire recovery settlements since he represented an area that had recently been devastated by multiple deadly wildfires.
Born and bred in northern California, LaMalfa has served as the area's congress representative since 2013. He was unanimously chosen to lead the Congressional Western Caucus in 2025.
He had declared his intention to compete for reelection, but after Proposition 50, a redistricting bill that altered LaMalfa's district's boundaries, was passed, he was anticipated to have a difficult contest.
“No state should be doing mid-decade redistricting unless directed by a court or forced to. Voters in California have voted overwhelmingly twice to prevent partisan redistricting,”
he said in a statement last year.
How does LaMalfa's death affect the House Republican majority?
Doug LaMalfa's death reduces the House Republican maturity to a razor-thin 218- 213 periphery( assuming full attendance), meaning Speaker Mike Johnson can go to lose only two GOP votes on any party- line legislation.
Combined with Marjorie Taylor Greene's abdication on January 5, this creates four vacuities LaMalfa's California- 1( R 18 Trump seat), Greene's Georgia- 14( special election March 10), Texas- 18( Dem runoff January 31), and New Jersey- 11( Dem special April 16) further straining GOP control amid a disunited government.
Governor Newsom must call a special election for CA- 1 under new Popular- drawn charts from Proposition 50, making it competitive( now D 3 spare) despite Trump's 25- point palm there in 2024; a Popular hold or flip would abolish the GOP edge entirely, forcing Johnson to negotiate every bill.