UNLIKE many of his GOP colleagues, Henry Hyde of Illinois is leaving Capitol Hill by choice: After 32 years in the House of Representatives, this remarkable man has finally decided to call it quits. In January, a Democrat from Texas will occupy his coveted first-floor office in the Rayburn Building. “He’s already been in here to measure the drapes,” says Hyde. “I’m serious. He actually measured the drapes.”
At the age of 82, Hyde leaves behind an impressive legacy as one of the GOP’s greatest debaters and legislative champions. “You can spend a lifetime in politics and encounter only a few people of Henry’s caliber,” said Vice President Cheney in September, at a tribute in Washington. “He’s the rare member who can bring the House to silence merely by stepping to the well. When Henry Hyde begins to speak, you don’t want to miss a word. You know you’re going to hear something persuasive and moving, historically literate, intellectually honest.” On December 5, the entire House honored Hyde by naming a room in the Capitol after him.
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