Former New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman has died at the age of 82.

Rudman, a Republican who began his political career as New Hampshire Attorney General, died overnight, the Union Leader reports.

The AP reports:

Rudman's Washington, D.C., firm, the Albright Stonebridge Group, says he died Monday night.

The feisty New Hampshire Republican went to the Senate in 1981 with a reputation as a tough prosecutor. He was called upon by Senate leaders and presidents of both parties to tackle tough assignments.

He is perhaps best known for his co-sponsorship of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget cutting law. He left the Senate in 1993, frustrated that the law never reached its potential because of Congress.

Before his election to the Senate, he served six years as New Hampshire's attorney general.

UPDATE: President Barack Obama released the following statement on the passing of Rudman:

With the passing of Warren Rudman, the United States has lost a decorated war veteran and one of our country’s great public servants. Over almost 20 years representing the people of New Hampshire – first as Attorney General and then in the Senate – Warren was the embodiment of Yankee sensibility and New England independence. As an early advocate for fiscal responsibility, he worked with Republicans and Democrats alike to call attention to our nation’s growing deficit. And as we work together to address the fiscal challenges of our time, leaders on both sides of the aisle would be well served to follow Warren’s example of common-sense bipartisanship. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Rudman family.

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