Former Sen. Howard Baker Jr. famous for Watergate, dies at 88-years-old

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker Jr., who asked what President Richard Nixon knew about Watergate, has died. He was 88.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander confirmed Baker's death in a news release Thursday.

Baker became Tennessee's first popularly elected Republican senator in 1966. During his tenure in the Senate from 1967 to 1985,Baker served two terms as Majority Leader and two terms as Minority Leader. He was most visible as vice-chair of the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973.

Baker's distinguished record of legislative accomplishments show his penchant for compromise and bipartisan action. He collaborated with Democratic Senator Edmund Muskie to draft two seminal environmental laws: the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Baker also supported the controversial Panama Canal Treaties, championed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

Bipartisan Policy Center's Co-founder and former Senator Dole, who replaced Baker as Senate Republican leader in 1985, said, "Howard's reputation as the 'Great Conciliator' was well earned. He was a person you could work with. In the Senate, he was able to accomplish so much because he cultivated mutual respect and cooperation with his opponents."

"Senator Baker's conciliatory style as majority leader was legendary," said BPC Co-founder and former Senator Mitchell. "Howardalways represented the gold standard for working with others-not against or around them. He acted on the belief that principled cooperation is the key to progress."

"I'm a lifelong and proud Republican," Baker once said. "Unlike some, however, I don't believe loyalty to party precludes common sense decision and policymaking. Some of our nation's greatest triumphs have come when political leaders have not allowed partisan differences to deter their efforts to find solutions that are in our nation's best interest."

In 2003, the University of Tennessee established the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy in honor of his leadership. Like its namesake, the Center prizes the importance of "examining policy and politics through a nonpartisan lens."

Baker is survived by his wife, former Kansas Senator Nancy Kassenbaum Baker, his son Darek and daughter Cissy, and his grandchildren.

Baker, a Republican, served 18 years in the Senate. He earned the respect of Republicans and Democrats alike and rose to the post of majority leader. He served as White House chief of staff at the end of the Reagan administration and was U.S. ambassador to Japan during President George W. Bush's first term.

His question at the 1973 Senate Watergate hearings - "What did the president know and when did he know it?" - became famous. It instantly focused the nation's attention on the cover-up that - more than the Watergate break-in itself - eventually brought down Nixon's presidency.