Pittsburgh, PA, October 5, 2026 — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who served as the longest-serving Republican Speaker in the House of Representatives, died over the weekend at his home. He was 84 years old and his death was attributed to natural causes.

Hastert’s tenure as Speaker, from 1999 to 2007, marked him as a significant figure in Republican leadership. However, his legacy was later complicated by legal challenges stemming from allegations of sexual abuse and subsequent efforts to conceal payments related to these claims.

In 2015, Hastert faced charges related to the withdrawal of large sums of cash from bank accounts. Prosecutors alleged these withdrawals were intended to pay hush money to individuals he had allegedly sexually abused years earlier while he was a government teacher. The exact nature and timeline of these alleged abuses were detailed in court proceedings.

These charges ultimately led to Hastert’s resignation from Congress and overshadowed his earlier legislative achievements. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to a single count of evading federal reporting requirements regarding the cash withdrawals. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted to lying to the FBI about the reasons for the withdrawals.

The former Speaker was subsequently sentenced to 12 months and two days in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. The contractor’s name who allegedly made some of these payments was not publicly disclosed in court documents, nor were the specific locations of the alleged abuses beyond his past role as a teacher.

Following his sentencing, Hastert served time in prison. The details of his activities after his release from prison were not elaborated upon in the proceedings. His death marks the end of a political career that spanned over two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives.


Story summarized from the original created by Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk on www.wpxi.com, see more information here.

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