Dianne Feinstein, 90, Dies; Oldest Sitting Senator and Fixture of California Politic
She achieved remarkable political breakthroughs as a woman, becoming San Francisco’s first female mayor and the first woman elected to the Senate from California.
Dianne Feinstein, the grande dame of California Democrats who became the mayor of San Francisco after a horrific double assassination at City Hall in 1978 and then gained national stature as an influential voice in the United States Senate for more than 30 years, died on Thursday night at her home in Washington.
Her death was confirmed by family members, who did not cite a cause. Ms. Feinstein had returned to the Senate in May, appearing frail and using a wheelchair,after a two-month absence during which she was treated for shingles
Her death comes more than seven months after she announced that she intended to retire at the end of her term in January 2025. The news concluded a protracted guessing game as to whether she would seek another term on Capitol Hill at her advanced age, and it set off a scramble among California Democrats eager to succeed her.
Feinstein’s death at home in Washington on Thursday night brought down the curtain on a storied career that included gun control advocacy – she spearheaded the first federal assault weapons ban – and documenting the CIA’s torture of foreign terrorism suspects.
Dianne Feinstein, the oldest serving member of the US Senate who blazed a trail for women in American politics, has died. She was 90.