Former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen dies at 85

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Lobbying scandal
The moderate-to-conservative Democrat, who preferred to work away from the limelight, quickly built a reputation as a bipartisan coalition builder.

In a career of many successes, the cautious Bentsen had few missteps.

The most prominent was in 1987 when it became known that the newly installed chairman of the Senate Finance Committee had solicited $10,000 campaign contributions from lobbyists in exchange for once-a-month breakfasts with him. He quickly disbanded the breakfast club, derisively referred to by critics as “Eggs McBentsen,” returned the money and apologized for a “doozy” of a mistake.

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Less than a month into his two-year tenure at Treasury, Bentsen was forced to deal with a botched raid of the Branch Davidian complex outside Waco, Texas, by Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He also faced questions about Treasury’s supervisory role in handling a failed Arkansas savings and loan involved in the Whitewater investigation.

The setbacks were offset by the high marks Bentsen won for his smooth dealings with Congress.

In joining Clinton’s new Cabinet, the Democrat brought with him the respect he’d earned on Capitol Hill and Wall Street. Sure-footed in articulating economic policy, Bentsen was one of the architects of Clinton’s deficit-reduction program and also won plaudits for deft coordination of international economic issues.

When Bentsen announced his retirement, Clinton said: “By any stead, he ranks as one of the outstanding economic policymakers in this country since World War II.”

Last role at law firm
After his retirement, Bentsen, long one of the wise old men of the Democratic Party, continued discreetly dispensing political advice even after he left public office for his final career as a rainmaker for the powerful Washington law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand.

Bentsen was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1999 by Clinton. “Under his leadership in 1993, when some of the rest of us had our doubts, we passed the economic plan that paved the way for what is now the longest peacetime expansion in our history,” Clinton said.

Bentsen is survived by his wife, Beryl Ann; two sons; a daughter; and eight grandchildren.

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