Free Republic

Thad Cochran's camp batted down rumors last year of a romance between the senator and longtime aide Kay Webber, the New York Times reports, amid criticism that Webber had joined Cochran on 28 taxpayer-funded trips to 45 countries costing more than $150,000. Now, in a one-sentence statement, his office confirms that Cochran, 77, put a ring on it on Saturday during a private family ceremony in Gulfport, Miss., the Clarion-Ledger reports. Cochran's wife of 50 years—photographed by an anti-Cochran blogger in a nursing home last year—died in December at 73 after suffering from dementia, the Washington Post reports. A Cochran...

The Mississippi senator’s previous wife died in December.Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran married his longtime executive assistant, Kay Webber, over the holiday weekend, according to a report from the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. The 77-year-old Republican wed Webber, who has worked for him since 1981, in a private ceremony in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Saturday. Cochran’s staff, which had denied any knowledge of an impending wedding as recently as last week, released the news in a one-sentence statement. Webber is also 77. Story Continued Below Cochran’s previous wife of 50 years, Rose Cochran, died last December. She spent the final 13 years...

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has married longtime aide Kay Webber. In a statement released Monday, Cochran's office said the marriage took place privately Saturday in Gulfport. Spokesman Chris Gallegos says Webber, Cochran's executive assistant, has worked for him since 1981. The 77-year-old senator's former wife, Rose Cochran, died in December at age 73 from dementia after living in a nursing home for 13 years.