Greenville Leader

South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-Laurens) took to Twitter to offer condolences in the wake of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's death.

“We mourn the loss of Colin Powell, a dedicated public servant, as we remember his service to our country,” Duncan wrote. “May God bless his family in the days ahead.”

Powell died of COVID-19 complications. He had underlying medical conditions including treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of blood cells that compromises the immune system, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was scheduled to get a COVID booster shot before becoming ill, according to ABC News.   

Powell served at the top of the national security establishment for four presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, according to MSN.

Powell was the first African American ever to serve as national security adviser and the first black secretary of state. And, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he was the senior ranking member of the U.S. armed forces and top military adviser to the president, according to MSN.

He played key roles in both Iraq wars as a military leader in the first one and as a political adviser who made the case for Iraq having weapons of mass destruction in the second.