The retiring senator received the nickname “Dr. No” for his devotion to blocking bills that he believed contained unnecessary spending. He didn’t back down from that moniker even during his last few days in office, when he blocked a bill to spend $22 million on helping prevent suicide among veterans and a bill that would have reauthorized a federal program to back the insurance industry in case of a terrorist attack.
Coburn decided to retire amid a battle with cancer. This is his fourth treatment for cancer.
“You all have to die of something,” he said. “The deal is how to use each day to move things forward, for both you and the people you love and the country you love.”
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