Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch died Sunday afternoon, a week after being hospitalized with pneumonia and a day after being placed on a ventilator to help him breathe. Busch, 72, was a titan of state Democratic politics and the longest-serving House speaker in Maryland history. “At 3:22pm this afternoon, Maryland Speaker of the House Michael Erin Busch passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones,” a statement from his office said. For the first time in his 16-year tenure as speaker, Busch presided from a chair rather than standing before the at-times unruly chamber of 141 members. Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) leads an assembly in the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland in 2011.

Source: Washington Post April 07, 2019 16:05 UTC