Representative John Murtha, D-Penn., passed away at the age of 77 Monday after complications from gallbladder surgery.

Murtha reportedly passed away in an Arlington, Virginia, hospital Monday afternoon with his family at his bedside.

He had been admitted to the hospital last week, suffering a severe infection after gallbladder surgery. The lawmaker had been suffering from gallbladder pain in December and underwent surgery to have it removed in January.

During his time in Congress, Murtha was an outspoken critic of the Iraq War. He was first elected in 1974, becoming the first Vietnam veteran to be elected to Congress.

Despite the fact that he later became a critic of the Iraq War, Murtha originally voted for going to war in 2002. However, in 2005, he called for the US to pull out of Iraq, which prompted Representative Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, to say, 'Cowards cut and run, Marines never do.'

Not realizing that Murtha was a former Marine himself when she made those remarks, Schmidt later apologized.

Murtha was nicknamed 'The King of Pork' during his time in office. He received a lot of notoriety for earmarking federal dollars for projects in his district.

In 2006, he was endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to serve as House Majority Leader, but the position ultimately went to Steny Hoyer, D-Mar.

Source: Political: Repr...