DETROIT – Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell did not attend the President's State of the Union address Tuesday night and instead is at home with her husband, former congressman John Dingell.
Rep. Dingell tweeted Wednesday morning that she is asking for "prayers and privacy during this difficult time" as she and John have "entered a new phase."
"Friends and colleagues know me and know I would be in Washington right now unless something was up," she tweeted. "I am home with John and we have entered a new phase. He is my love and we have been a team for nearly 40 years. I will be taking each day as it comes. We thank people for their friendship and support and ask for prayers and privacy during this difficult time."
After nearly 60 years of service, John Dingell retired in 2014. He was first elected to the House in 1955, filling the seat vacated by his late father. Dubbed "Big John" for his imposing 6-foot-3 frame and sometimes intimidating manner, a reputation bolstered by the wild game heads decorating his Washington office, Dingell served with every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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Congressman John D. DingellMr. Joe Belch with Congressman John D. Dingell in 1964Congressman John D. Dingell with Charlie Prather, Matt McNeally and other campaign staffersCongressman John D. Dingell Senior (Congressman John Dingell's father)President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Congressman John D. Dingell Senior (third from right) at the signing of the Social Security ActCongressman John D. Dingell in 1964Congressman John D. Dingell with Hubert H. Humphrey and Congressman William D. FordPresident Lyndon B. Johnson and Congressman John D. Dingell at the signing of the Civil Rights ActCongressman John D. Dingell at a Commerce Committee hearingCongressman John D. Dingell and President John F. KennedyCongressman John D. Dingell and President Harry S. TrumanCongressman John D. Dingell and President Lyndon B. Johnson at the signing of the Medicare ActCongressman John D. Dingell being sworn in by Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn in 1955Mr. Dingell goes to WashingtonMarch 11, 2010 - Congressman and Mrs. Dingell with Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw at a White House screening of "The Pacific."November 3, 2005 - Congressman Dingell with Senators Barack Obama and John Kerry at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.November 3, 2005 - Congressman Dingell speaks at the funeral for Rosa ParksMarch 01, 2006 - Dingell meets with American Legion veteransCongressman Ralph Hall, former Senator Bob Dole, Congressmen Bob Stump, John Dingell and Henry Hyde, all World War II Veterans, pose for a photo with Robert Ferguson, of the SBC Corp. SBC donated $3 million to a new World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.Congressman Dingell speaks at a press conference with Senators Daschle, Mikulski, Dodd, Harkin, Kennedy and Rockefeller.Congressman Dingell meets with Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo.Congressman Dingell listens to Luke Dahn, a student in Lincoln Elementary's Head Start Program.Mr. John Titer, President Bill Clinton, Congressman John D. Dingell, and Former Congressman Bill BrewsterCongressman John D. Dingell talks with J. D. Williams and a guide.Congressman John D. Dingell and members of the Detroit Pistons after their 1988 NBA ChampionshipDeborah Insley Dingell, President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Congressman John D. DingellCongressman John D. Dingell at the New York Stock ExchangeCongressman John D. Dingell and President Ronald ReaganCongressman John D. Dingell answers a question about Patient ProtectionPresident George Bush and Congressman John D. Dingell in Wyandotte, MichiganCongressman John D. Dingell meeting with constituents at Sam's Club in Southgate, MichiganCongressman John D. Dingell talks to children at a Dearborn SchoolCongressman John D. Dingell in an F-14Sesame Street's Cookie Monster meets with Congressman John D. DingellLee Iacocca, the former President of Chrysler, and Congressman John D. DingellPresident Jimmy Carter and Congressman John D. DingellFormer Secretary Casper Weinberger, Congressman John D. Dingell and Senator David Pryor (Arkansas)Congressman John D. Dingell and Vice President Al GoreFirst Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton And Congressman John D. DingellCongressman John D. Dingell, Deborah Insley Dingell, and Pope John Paul IICongressman Dingell visits with students at Temperance High School.Congressman John D. Dingell is joined by actress Lorraine Bracco (The Soprano's) to release the Dingell-Maloney Report --A New Look through the Glass Ceiling ... Where are the Women?--Congressman John D. Dingell is joined by Senator Barbara Mikulski and more than 100 nurses from Johns Hopkins University in kicking off National Nurses Week.No description foundCongressman John D. Dingell is joined by Congressman Nick Rahall (left) and Ed Clark of the National Wildlife Federation and Wildlife Center of Virginia. This photo was taken following a press conference where Congressman Dingell blasted the Department of Defense which sent a legislative proposal to the Committee on Armed Services seeking broad exemptions from six of our Nation's most important environmental laws - the Clean Air Act, Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act.Congressman John D. Dingell visits with Clifford the Dog during National Get Caught Reading Week.2005 Detroit Auto Show (Members of Congress from left to right) Cliff Stearns (FL-06), John Dingell (MI-15), Edolphus Towns (NY-10), Charles Gonzales (TX-20), Sherrod Brown (OH-13), Bobby Rush (IL-01)Congressman John D. Dingell with Actor Robert Redford and Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior under President John F. Kennedy at the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Dingell received the first annual Saylor award for Conservation Leadership.Congressman Dingell participates in Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Shootout on May 17, 2004May 12, 2005 - Congressmen Dingell & Conyers with Police Honor Guard - Police from several Michigan communities traveled to Washington, DC for 'Michigan Police Night' hosted by the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM). Officers recognized Members of Michigan's Congressional Delegation, including Senator Debbie Stabenow, Congressman John Dingell (MI-15) and Congressman John Conyers (MI-14), for their participation in Police Officers Memorial Week during a ceremony at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 12, 2005. Pictured from left to right: Southfield Police Honor Guard Dan Davis, Jeff Mediei, John Fitzgerald (in between Mr. Conyers & Mr. Dingell), Keith Toupin, John Hunter Fraser Police Honor Guard Bonnie HarrisMarch 15, 2005 - Congressman Dingell joins Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) and Congressman Rob Andrews (NJ-01) at a news conference announcing the reintroduction of the Equal Rights AmendmentAugust 15, 2005 - Congressman Dingell addresses Monroe veterans in honor of the 60th anniversary of the end of WWIIAugust 18, 2005 - Representative Dingell on a Farm TourNovember 12, 2005 - Congressman Dingell and Secretary MinetaDecember 01, 2005 - Congressman Dingell with Iraqi Vice President Dr. Adil AbdulmahdiJune 19, 2007 - Congressmen John Dingell and Mike Rogers present Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Coach Jim Leyland with a House Resolution honoring the team for winning the 2006 American League Championship Series.April 19, 2008 - Congressman Dingell and his wife Debbie Dingell meet with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Ann Arbor. Courtesy: UM Photo Services, Martin Vloet/UM Center for Sustainable SystemsMichigan Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, Michigan Senator Carl Levin, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Congressman Dingell, Debbie Dingell and Congressman Dale Kildee meet in Michigan.Congressman John Dingell, original sponsor of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, signs the copy in his office on July 14, 2009.Congressman John Dingell poses with (from left to right) Congressman Steny Hoyer, Congressman Rob Andrew, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman George Miller, Congressman Henry Waxman, Congressman Charles Rangel, Congressman Pete Stark, and Congressman Frank Pallone shortly before the introduction of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 on July 14, 2009.Congressman Dingell rides a John Deere tractor with Jerry Kuehnlein Jr. on Mr. Kuehnlein\'s farm during this year\'s Farm Tour in Monroe. During his visit, the Congressman spoke with farmers about the ACRE program and farm equipment technology, including the -auto steer- technology on tractors like the one you see here. The AutoTrac system on John Deere equipment communicates with GPS satellites to navigate tractors during straight-line operation, which can be used for tilling, spraying and broad-acre seeding.Congressman and Mrs. Dingell participate in the Ann Arbor Fourth of July parade. They are travelling north on S. State Street in Ann Arbor.Congressman and Mrs. Dingell participate in the Ann Arbor Fourth of July parade in Ann Arbor. They are at the corner of S. State Street and E. Liberty Street.Congressman John D. Dingell at a news conference on the launch of the cash for clunkers program. The news conference took place outside the US Department of Transportation on July 27. From left to right: Congressman Sander Levin, Congressman John D. Dingell, Congresswoman Betty Sutton (at podium), and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. (Photo Courtesy of Roll Call)October 29, 2009 - Congressman Dingell speaks at a press conference for the unveiling of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Mr. Dingell is holding the gavel he used to preside over the passage of Medicare in 1965. Congressman Dingell is the lead sponsor of H.R. 3962.March 23, 2010 - Congressman Dingell shakes hands with President Obama shortly after the President signed health insurance reform into law.
Congressman John D. Dingell
He also was known as a dogged pursuer of government waste and fraud, helping take down two top presidential aides while chairman of a powerful investigative panel.
His wife Debbie now represents Michigan's 12th Congressional District, the seat her husband once held. She has held the seat since 2015. John's father, John Dingell Sr., held Michigan's 12th district for 22 years before his son won it. Overall, the Dingells have represented this district -- as it is drawn now and iterations of it before -- for 86 consecutive years.
Last year, Local 4's Devin Scillian sat down with John Dingell for a discussion about current political climate with -- watch here:
John Dingell moves witty political observations to Twitter after historic congressional tenure -- watch here:
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