Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in an e-mailed comment that Jennifer Dunn played a major role in his House leadership and on the Ways and Means Committee when the GOP ruled Washington:

She had an instinct for bringing people together and in a number of cases where we might have broken down and failed to pass legislation she convinced people to listen to each other and find a compromise that worked. She was relentless in seeking out women to run across the country and then in mentoring them once they got to Congress. She represented a sound common sense approach to serving her constituents, which made it almost impossible to not listen to her."

Earlier Gingrich had released a statement calling Dunn "a remarkable friend and a real leader." He pointed out that Dunn had been working on the State Department Transformational Advisory Group and "her advice and counsel will make an important contribution in developing a better State Department for America's future."

Gingirch reportedly helped put Dunn on the Ways and Means Committee and she remained a trusted ally. Her connections to GOP House leadership, and her willingness to challenge some of the old guard, is well detailed in this 1998 Washington Post story.