Weather Keeps Upton, Dozens Of Others From Congress From Dingell Funeral

uptonlmc-mlk2019-5
uptonlmc-mlk2019-5

Weather kept Fred Upton and as many as 90 other members of Congress from attending the funeral in Dearborn for former Congressman John Dingell. Congressman Billy Long of Missouri tweeted shortly before noon that an impromptu service was held for the 92-year-old at 30,000 feet, led by Upton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Georgia Congressman John Lewis. Long says they were delayed taking off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and circled Detroit Metro Airport for an hour waiting for the temperature to rise by one degree. Their delegation also included the U.S. House chaplain, who had been scheduled to speak at the funeral along with Upton. Dingell served in the U.S. House longer than anyone else in history for 59 years from 1955 until his retirement in 2014. He took over the seat winning a special election following the death of his father, and was succeeded by his wife, Debbie Dingell, keeping that seat in Congress in the Dingell family for 86 years and counting now.