American politician San Francisco Board of Supervisors member (and future US Senator) Dianne Feinstein as she attends a Candidates’ Day event at the Douglas School, San Francisco, California, September 1979.
(Janet Fries/Getty Images)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a centrist senator who also was a champion of liberal and women’s issues, has died.
Feinstein, the longest-serving senator, was 90. The Californian died at her home in Washington, D.C.
Opening the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that “earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate.”
Feinstein had served since 1992 and was among several trailblazing women elected to Congress that year.
UNITED STATES - APRIL 27: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., arrives to the senate carriage entrance of the Capitol on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
(Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Dianne Feinstein with her husband, Dr. Bertram Feinstein, and daughter Kathy after being elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969.
(Associated Press)
Dianne Feinstein, top left, then president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, bows her head with others in a moment of silence for Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot to death at City Hall on Nov. 27, 1978. Moscone’s slaying elevated Feinstein to the mayor’s office.
(A. Cope / Associate Press)
San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein holds up the headlines in her office in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 27, 1983 following her sweeping victory in Tuesday’s recall election. The recall was organized by the White Panthers who were angered at her support for gun control.
(Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Tony Bennett, who sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” and San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein wave to the crowd as they hang on the outside of the lead cable car in parade celebrating the return of the cable cars, June 21, 1984 in San Francisco. The system was shut down for 20 months for a $60 million renovation.
(Eric Risberg/Associated Press)
California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein, left, gets a warm handshake and a smile from California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown as she prepared to leave a San Francisco press conference, June 6, 1990 for Los Angeles. Between them is her husband, Richard Blum.
(Sal Veder/Associated Press)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein waves to supporters at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, June 6, 1990 after winning her party’s nomination for governor in the California June primary election against John Van de Kamp. At left is her husband Richard Blum.
(Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Mayor Dianne Feinstein with her new husband Richard Blum shortly after their wedding ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, Sunday, Jan. 20, 1980. The two plan a short honeymoon in the east. It was the third wedding for the Mayor, the second for Blum.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
San Francisco Mayor & Dem. Gubernatorial hopeful Dianne Feinstein working out on weight machine at home.
(Kim Komenich/Getty Images)
Dianne Feinstein the Mayor of San Francisco addresses the Democratic National Convention. She would be elected to the Senate in Nov. of 1992 .
(Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Democrats Dianne Feinstein, left, and Barbara Boxer, shown at an appearance in Burbank on June 3, 1992, joined forces in running for California’s U.S. Senate seats after winning their respective primaries.
(Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)
California Gov. Gray Davis (R) watches as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, picks up a Chinese-made AK-47 assault rifle during a news conference to urge Congress to extend to the Assault Weapons Ban August 21, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. The original Assault Weapons Ban, sponsored by Sen. Feinstein, will expire on September 13, 2004 if not reauthorized. The conference was attended by heads of California police and sheriffs departments whose officers have been recently killed with this type of weapon. Democratic favorite Feinstein refused to run against the governor in the October 7 recall election.
(David McNew/Getty Images)
With the help of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein flexes her bicep to show the muscle she will use to help Schwarzenegger come up with water bond during a news conference at the Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. Feinstein met with Schwarzenegger, and legislative leaders to help restart talks in an effort to come with comprehensive water plan for California.
(Rich Pedroncelli/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill after releasing a report on the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques at secret overseas facilities after the 9/11 terror attacks.
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)
Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa and ranking member Dianne Feinstein of California listen to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, focusing on allegations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh against Blasey Ford in the early 1980s.
(Tom Williams / Associated Press)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is escorted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), into the Senate side of the the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 in Washington, DC. Feinstein’s return to Congress, bookends a more than two-month absence from the nation’s capitol due to illness.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein hugs Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at the close of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Oct. 15, 2020, in Washington.
(Samuel Corum / Associated Press)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) leaves the Senate Chamber following a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. Feinstein, California’s longest-serving senator, announced she will not run for reelection next year, marking the end to one of the state’s most storied political careers. She plans to remain in office through the end of her term.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
