Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has died at age 90.
The longtime senator had suffered from extensive health issues for more than a year, leading many to wonder about her fitness for office.
She reportedly passed away on Friday morning.
Her cause of death is unclear.
Feinstein was present in the Senate on Wednesday and cast a vote at 11:45 a.m. ET, according to the congressional record.
However, she missed two votes later in the afternoon.
Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator ever, was first elected to the role in 1992.
“Senator Feinstein led a bipartisan group of senators in passing legislation to drastically increase the fuel efficiency of cars,” a biography on her website reads.
“She was a leading voice in the effort to legalize gay marriage and ensure rights for LGBT Americans.
“She’s a champion for the preservation of the Mojave Desert, Lake Tahoe, and California’s forests.”
“She helped create the nationwide AMBER Alert network, passed bills to criminalize border drug tunnels, and has long focused on improving California’s water infrastructure and reducing the threat of wildfires,” it added, noting that she has pushed for “commonsense gun laws.”
Her biography says her “most notable achievements” are the “enactment of the federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994” and the “six-year review of the CIA’s detention and interrogation program that culminated in the 2014 release of the report’s executive summary and passage of legislation ensuring that certain post-9/11 interrogation methods are never used again.”
Prior to serving as a senator, Feinstein spent nine years as San Francisco County Supervisor, beginning in 1969.
She then became mayor of the city in 1978 and was elected to two four-year terms.
“Senator Feinstein’s career has been one of firsts,” her website biography also says.
“She was the first woman president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman mayor of San Francisco, the first woman elected Senator of California, the first woman member and first woman ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first woman to chair the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the first woman to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee.”
Earlier this year, as concerns mounted over Feinstein’s deteriorating health, Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) launched a campaign for the senator’s seat.
Schiff launched his campaign despite Feinstein not making retirement announcements.
This is a breaking news story – please check back for updates.
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