Lawmakers send prayers, support to Hillary Clinton

Several members of Congress expressed condolences to Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday, following the death of her mother earlier in the morning. 

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) noted that he had met Clinton’s mother “a few times.”

He tweeted: “She was strong, smart, and engaging woman and a justifiably proud mother of her strong, smart, and engaging daughter.”

{mosads}Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also posted her sympathy for Clinton and the families affected by this loss. Gillibrand filled Hillary Clinton’s seat as New York senator in January 2009, when Clinton became the new Secretary of State.

“So sorry to hear Dorothy Rodham has died,” Gillibrand tweeted. “So sorry to hear Dorothy Rodham has died. My thoughts & prayers are w/Secy Clinton & the Clinton & Rodham families in this difficult time.”

Another Democrat from New York, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, tweeted: “Rest in Peace, Dorothy Rodham, 1919-2011. My thoughts and prayers are with her daughter, Hillary Clinton, and her entire family.”

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) also released a message responding to Rodham’s death on Tuesday.

“Dorothy was known for her kind and generous spirit – a spirit that so many Americans had the opportunity to experience firsthand during Secretary Clinton’s time in the White House as First Lady and then on the campaign trail in 2008,” Wasserman Schultz said. “She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother and grandmother, as well as a friend to many. But Dorothy will also be remembered for the difference she made in the lives of those she did not know – especially the countless neglected and abused children across the country who she was determined to help and whose cause she championed throughout her life.”

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) also expressed her “deepest condolences” to Clinton on Twitter after her mother’s passing.

Dorothy Rodham’s family surrounded her as she passed away just after midnight on November 1. She was 92. In addition to Hillary, she had two other children, Hugh and Tony.