Sen. Robert Bryd (D-W.Va.) (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Some breaking news to pass along this morning before we even get our first cup of coffee: Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-tenured member of Congress, died early this morning at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was 92. No formal cause of death was given, though Byrd had been hospitalized last week with what was believed to be heat exhaustion. Byrd had served in the Senate since January 3, 1959, and is one of the more decorated legislators in that body’s history — his vitae includes two stints as the Majority Leader and he chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee. Byrd overcame an association with the Ku Klux Klan early in his life to rise to prominence in Washington; he holds several unique distinctions, like being the only member of Congress to put himself through law school while serving a term, as he did at American University while he was serving in the House of Representatives between 1953 and 1959.

Byrd also has a long history with governance of the District. He chaired the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the District from 1961 to 1969, and went on a purge of the city’s welfare rolls. During the 1968 riots, Byrd suggested calling up federal troops to D.C. And after initially opposing home rule, he endorsed it, stating in 1971 that there was a “lack of responsibility at the local government level.”

Flags will fly at half-mast today in memorial to Byrd’s lengthy service in the Congress.