Jim McDermott 1936 – 2026

Biography

James Adelbert McDermott was an American politician and psychiatrist who represented Seattle in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 terms, from 1989 to 2017. Born on December 28, 1936, in Chicago, he served as a psychiatrist in the Vietnam War before entering politics, winning a seat in the Washington House of Representatives in 1970 and the state Senate in 1974. In Congress he chaired the House Ethics Committee from 1993 to 1995 and became a national voice for universal health care and a fierce critic of the Iraq War. He was re-elected 13 times before retiring in January 2017. He died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on November 12, 2026, aged 89.