Source: Former Mich. Rep. Dingell in hospice care

Associated Press

DETROIT

Former Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in American history, is receiving hospice care, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly but told The Associated Press about the 92-year-old Dingell’s condition.

Dingell posted on Twitter Wednesday evening, telling his followers, “I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind words and prayers. You’re not done with me just yet.”

His wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell, tweeted Wednesday morning that she was with him at their home in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.

“Friends and colleagues know me and know I would be in Washington right now unless something was up,” tweeted Debbie Dingell, who successfully ran for her husband’s Michigan seat in 2014.

John Dingell announced in early 2014 that he would not run for a 30th full term because he could not have lived up to his own standards.

Dingell suffered a heart attack in September.

Dingell was first elected in 1955 to fill the House seat vacated by his late father. He was considered a master of legislative deal-making and a staunch advocate for the U.S. auto industry.