WASHINGTON −Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer for women in politics in California and Washington who spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate, has died. She was 90.
Known for working across the aisle while championing progressive causes, Feinstein planned to retire at the end of her term after facing concerns about her health and calls to resign. The oldest current member of the Senate, she died at her home in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night, according to a statement from her office.
“There are few women who can be called senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mom and grandmother," Feinstein's chief of staff, James Sauls, said. “She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary. There is much to say about who she was and what she did, but for now, we are going to grieve the passing of our beloved boss, mentor and friend.”
President Joe Biden was one of many prominent political and cultural leaders to publicly mourn her passing. In a statement issued by the White House, Biden − a longtime Senate colleague of Feinstein's − called her "a pioneering American. A true trailblazer. And for Jill and me, a cherished friend.""Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans – a job she took seriously by mentoring countless public servants, many of whom now serve in my Administration," Biden said. "She had an immense impact on younger female leaders for whom she generously opened doors."
Making history in California, then Washington
Feinstein made history as the first woman elected as mayor in San Francisco and the first woman in the Senate from the state of California. She became the first woman to chair the powerful Senate Rules and Senate Intelligence committees, a perch from which she played an outsized role in some of the most pressing issues of the day, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
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Many other parts of American life have been marked by her fingerprints as well, from fighting for an assault weapons ban in 1994 to enshrining marriage equality into law in 2022. She also ushered in Amber Alerts and the Violence Against Women Act.
Feinstein was especially passionate about gun control. Early in her Senate career, Feinstein championed gun control advocacy by authoring the 1994 assault weapons ban which then-President Bill Clinton signed into law. Since the law expired in 2004, Feinstein spearheaded further efforts for stronger gun control legislation.
The last vote Feinstein took was Thursday morning in a Senate effort to prevent a government shutdown.
As news of Feinstein’s passing poured in, the House Rules Committee held a moment of silence in honor of the California Democrat during a meeting on a spending package to avert a government shutdown.“I know many of us had the opportunity to deal with her and certainly all of us on both sides of the aisle respect her,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chair of the House Rules committee, said Friday morning.
Breaking barriers, blazing trails
Former first lady and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Feinstein “blazed trails for women in politics and found a life's calling in public service. I'll miss her greatly as a friend.”
Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992, dubbed the "Year of the Woman."
She broke another barrier in 1978 when she became the first female president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Feinstein went on to become San Francisco's first female mayor, one of California's first two female senators, the first woman to lead the Senate Intelligence Committee and serve as the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat.
"I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told the Associated Press in 2005. At the time, she was sitting on the Judiciary Committee holding hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.
Health concerns and other controversies
Feinstein's long tenure was marked by controversy at times, including her position on the U.S. war in Iraq during the George W. Bush administration, and her handling as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee during the nomination process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
During his explosive confirmation hearings, Kavanaugh's nomination was in jeopardy after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school. Kavanaugh denied it.
But Feinstein became a lightning rod for criticism from then-President Donald Trump − and, more quietly, from some fellow Democrats − after she acknowledged that she had received a letter from the woman that she did not share with Senate colleagues and federal law enforcement until months later, as Kavanaugh was coming under fire for a host of allegations during the Senate hearings.
More recently, Feinstein had been dogged by health problems during her last months in office, which had spurred calls from progressive lawmakers to resign during her last months in office.
For at least three months she had been sidelined from the Senate with shingles. She also was briefly hospitalized after suffering a fall at her California home and had been reportedly confused when taking certain votes. Other reports said the longtime senator had turned her power of attorney over to her daughter.
Hours after House Democrats called for her resignation in April, Feinstein asked to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein, who had said she would retire at the end of 2024, gave no estimated date for her return. But her lengthy absence delayed Biden's judicial nominees, causing anger and consternation among members of her own party.
"This is a moment of crisis for women's rights and voting rights. It's unacceptable to have Sen. Feinstein miss vote after vote to confirm judges who will uphold reproductive rights," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a statement at the time.
Those incidents sparked a larger conversation about the age of U.S. officials, including Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who are in their early 80s.
McConnell had two public health scares this year where he abruptly stopped speaking at press conferences, which raised questions and concerns about his health.
McConnell, who was first elected in 1984, fell at least two other times in previously unreported incidents, USA TODAY learned.
Similarly, Biden’s age has remained a persistent pebble in his shoe with Democratic voters.
Outpouring of emotions by lawmakers
Praise for Feinstein came immediately from both Democrats and Republicans.
In tearful remarks Friday morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for the Senate to observe a moment of silence in honor of Feinstein.
“Earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate,” he said.
Schumer said Feinstein was “one of the most amazing people who ever graced the Senate” and the country. He highlighted Feinstein’s integrity and her accomplishments listing off several like her work fighting for climate justice, marriage equality, reproductive justice and how she has served as the longest-serving female senator in history.
“Dianne Feinstein fought for what was right, even if it was hard and difficult and took months and years to dig in and find out what actually went wrong,” Schumer said.
“Today we grieve. We look at that desk and we know what we have lost,” Schumer added, turning to face Feinstein’s desk which was draped with a black cloth and a vase of white roses.
McConnell, also spoke to Feinstein’s passing Friday morning on the Senate floor, calling her a “truly remarkable individual."
“She was an incredibly effective person at every line, at every level and she was at all of those levels on her way to the Senate,” he said.
Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, said despite her political differences with Feinstein, they worked together to determine the origins of COVID-19 and to update the Violence Against Women Act to protect women from sexual assault and domestic violence.
“Senator Dianne Feinstein’s life of service blazed a trail for women in politics and the future of girls across the nation,” Ernst said. “Dianne will be missed; she leaves behind an incredible legacy of bipartisanship.”
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