“My dad passed away peacefully Tuesday afternoon at his home surrounded by his family,” David Mineta said in a statement provided by Mineta’s former chief of staff, John Flaherty.
Flaherty told CNN that the elder Mineta died in Edgewater, Maryland, of a heart ailment.
Mineta served in both the administrations of President Bill Clinton, as commerce secretary, and President George W. Bush, as transportation secretary, where he oversaw aviation security during 9/11 and its aftermath.
He had previously served two decades in Congress, elected as a Democrat out of his native California.
Bush described Mineta’s legacy on Tuesday as “a wonderful American story about someone who overcame hardship and prejudice.”
“As my Secretary of Transportation, he showed great leadership in helping prevent further attacks on and after 9/11,” Bush wrote. “As I said when presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Norm has given his country a lifetime of service, and he’s given his fellow citizens an example of leadership, devotion to duty, and personal character.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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