U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein has died from natural causes at age 90. The Associated Press was first to report her death on Friday, Sept. 29.
The Democratic senator from California suffered from health problems and was confined to a wheelchair after a fall at home.
Feinstein was the oldest sitting U.S. senator. She was often confused when answering questions from the news media. But her staff denied reports that she had dementia.
Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and became its first female president in 1978.
Feinstein became San Francisco’s first female mayor after Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were gunned down by a disgruntled former city employee.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said Feinstein’s handling of the assassinations demonstrated her ability to lead “in the face of total and complete disaster.”
Feinstein was one of California’s first two female senators. She became the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary committee’s top Democrat.
Feinstein’s third husband, Richard Blum, died in February 2022. She is survived by her daughter, a granddaughter and three stepchildren.
