Failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork has died at age 85.
The conservative jurist was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 but rejected by the Senate. The seat ultimately went to Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Bork's family confirmed the news of his death Wednesday morning to Fox News. Bork had a history of heart problems and a lung condition.
As President Richard Nixon's solicitor general, Bork was accused of being a partisan hatchet man for Nixon when he fired Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973.
Bork's drubbing during the 1987 Senate nomination hearings made him a hero to the right and a rallying cry for younger conservatives.
This post has been updated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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