--- title: Read Letter Rep. John Dingell Wrote Before He Died description: Rep. John Dingell dictated a letter to his wife in the hours before his death at the age of 92. Read it here. canonical: https://time.com/5525830/john-dingell-letter/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-08T23:00:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:43:53.819Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Letter Rep. John Dingell Wrote Just Before He Died og:description: 'In democratic government, elected officials do not have power. They hold power' og:url: https://time.com/5525830/john-dingell-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd126220faf00a23e/698944de09208f7d384134db/john-dingell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: John Dingell og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Letter Rep. John Dingell Wrote Just Before He Died twitter:description: 'In democratic government, elected officials do not have power. They hold power' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd126220faf00a23e/698944de09208f7d384134db/john-dingell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Letter Rep. John Dingell Dictated to His Wife Just Before He Died Earlier This Week > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Feb 8, 2019 11:00 PM UTC  Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) claps during a press conference after a vote on healthcare on Capitol Hill November 7, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) claps during a press conference after a vote on healthcare on Capitol Hill November 7, 2009 in Washington, D.C.Brendan Smialowski—Getty Images  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Feb 8, 2019 11:00 PM UTC Rep. John Dingell, who was the longest-serving member of U.S. Congress when [he died Feb. 7](http://time.com/5524802/michigan-democrat-john-dingell-dies-92/) at the age of 92, dictated a letter to his wife in the hours before his death. In the letter, [published](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/john-dingell-my-last-words-for-america/2019/02/08/99220186-2bd3-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.e6e047e02b83) in The Washington _Post_, Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, reflects on several challenges that Congress acted upon during his time in office, from environmental cleanup to civil rights. He thanks his friends and his wife, Deborah Dingell, also a representative from Michigan and, as Dingell puts it, “the woman who has essentially supported me for almost 40 years.” Finally, he offers some parting thoughts on the role of elected representatives in an democratic government: “In my life and career I have often heard it said that so-and-so has real power — as in, ‘the powerful Wile E. Coyote, chairman of the Capture the Road Runner Committee.’ It’s an expression that has always grated on me. In democratic government, elected officials do not _have_ power. They _hold_ power — in trust for the people who elected them. If they misuse or abuse that public trust, it is quite properly revoked (the quicker the better).” Read Rep. John Dingell’s full letter below, as [published](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/john-dingell-my-last-words-for-america/2019/02/08/99220186-2bd3-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.e6e047e02b83) in the _Post_: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5525830/john-dingell-letter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5525830/john-dingell-letter/"},"headline":"Read the Letter Rep. John Dingell Dictated to His Wife Just Before He Died Earlier This Week","datePublished":"2019-02-08T23:00:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:43:53.819Z","description":"'In democratic government, elected officials do not have power. 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