(CNN) Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, a civil rights activist and the longest-serving member of Florida's congressional delegation, has died, his chief of staff Lale M. Morrison told CNN on Tuesday. Hastings first began serving in the US House of Representatives in 1993 and has been a member of the House Rules Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid tribute to the late congressman in a statement, saying, "All who knew Alcee knew him as a champion for the most vulnerable in our nation." "As an attorney, civil rights activist and judge, and over his nearly thirty years in Congress, he fought tirelessly to create opportunities to lift up working families, communities of color, children and immigrants," Pelosi said.

Source: CNN April 06, 2021 14:36 UTC