Sen. Daniel Inouye, who at 88 the was the country's longest serving senator, has died.
Spokesman Peter Boylan said Sunday the senator was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was taken earlier this month so doctors could observe him and monitor his oxygen intake.
Late Monday, his staff announced the senator had passed away and his last words were "aloha."
Inouye, who had represented Hawaii in Congress since1954, was celebrating his 50th year in the Senate where he had served since 1962.
Inouye had been fighting respiratory complications but was in stable condition and communicating with his doctors and family, his staff had said on Sunday.
Inouye is a decorated World War II veteran and had long been a force in Hawaii politics. He served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and was the Senate's president pro tempore, third in the presidential line of succession.
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