CALIFORNIA, Ky. — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has died at age 90.
She broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics after being elected in 1992 as the first woman senator in California.
According to a statement from her office, Feinstein died in her home in Washington D.C.
“Dianne Feinstein was many things – a powerful, trailblazing U.S. Senator; an early voice for gun control; a leader in times of tragedy and chaos. But to me, she was a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like," Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a statement.
Feinstein was the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat. She gained a reputation as a pragmatic centrist leaving a mark on issues such as reproductive rights and environmental protection. She helped create the national AMBER Alert network and was focused on reducing the threat of wildfires in California.
She was also an advocate for commonsense gun laws, winning passage of a 10-year ban on manufacturing and selling military-style assault weapons in 1994.
Feinstein was born in 1933 and spent decades in California politics.
The California senator was the first woman to serve as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the 1970s and the first female mayor of San Francisco.
Last month, her office confirmed that the senator had been hospitalized after a fall at her California home.
Feinstein announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection in 2024, opening up her spot in the Senate for the first time in more than 20 years.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will eventually fill her seat, but Feinstein's death leaves the Senate without a Democratic senator with a narrowly divided Congress days before a federal government shutdown.
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