Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer who served in the U.S. Senate for over three decades, passed away at the age of 90, according to two sources. Her final vote in the Senate was recorded on Thursday. Feinstein held the record for the longest-serving woman in the Senate and the longest-serving senator from California. However, concerns about her health had affected her political career in recent months and years.
Earlier this year, Feinstein was absent from the Senate for approximately three months due to a severe case of shingles and virus-related complications. She returned in May but appeared frail and unwell. Subsequently, it was revealed that her health issues were more serious than previously disclosed, including encephalitis and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
There were reports of Feinstein denying her absence during a conversation with reporters. Her extended absence from Washington due to health reasons had become a source of contention among Democrats, especially as it affected the confirmation of President Biden’s judicial nominees. Some within her own party even called for her resignation. She was also briefly hospitalized in August after a fall at her San Francisco home.
In recent years, Feinstein’s age and memory lapses raised questions about her ability to continue serving. In early 2023, she announced that she would not seek re-election for another term, leading to a political battle for her seat in 2024.
Under California law, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has the authority to appoint a replacement until the 2024 election. Several prominent Democrats, including Rep. Katie Porter, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Barbara Lee, have already announced their intentions to run for Feinstein’s seat.
Throughout her career, Feinstein achieved numerous milestones, such as being the first woman to chair the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She fought for sensible gun laws, environmental preservation, improved water infrastructure, LGBTQ+ rights, and the legalization of same-sex marriage. She authored the federal assault weapons ban in 1994 and helped establish the Amber Alert network.
In 2014, Feinstein made headlines as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee by releasing a controversial report on the CIA’s interrogation methods after the 9/11 attacks. The report exposed the brutality of the techniques and the inaccurate information provided by the CIA.
Feinstein’s aspiration in publishing the report was to ensure that such practices would not be repeated after President Obama ended them. She emphasized the importance of reading the report to understand the actions taken by the CIA.
Feinstein was born in San Francisco in 1933 and gained national recognition during a crisis in the city when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated. She succeeded Moscone as mayor and later won a special election for the Senate seat in 1992, known as the “Year of the Woman” for the record number of female candidates elected to Congress.
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