Conservative champion & Coburn staffer, Michael Schwartz has died
Michael Schwartz, Longtime Coburn Staffer and Anti-Abortion Advocate, Dies at 63
By Emily Cahn, Roll Call Staff
Feb. 4, 2013, 5:26 p.m.
Michael Schwartz, longtime chief of staff to Sen. Tom Coburn and a devout Catholic who was passionate in his crusade against abortion, died Sunday after succumbing to Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 63.
Schwartz served as Coburn’s chief of staff for almost the entirety of the Oklahoma Republican’s career in the House and Senate, before stepping down in November after his disease made it too difficult to carry out the job’s daily tasks.
“In a place preoccupied by titles and position and power, Mike was an extraordinary servant and faithful leader,” Coburn said in a statement announcing Schwartz’s death. “He showed everyone — by his life, deeds and words — that things that are unseen are the things that matter. As he battled ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease — he showed us what it means to run the race and finish it strongly. Well done, good and faithful servant.”