But after a series of debilitating health issues, Dianne Feinstein \u2013 the oldest member of Congress \u2013 has died, aged 90.<\/p>\n
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Senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Bipartisan tributes began pouring in immediately when the news of Feinstein\u2019s death broke on Friday morning (US time), as pressure intensified to find a replacement quickly in a fiercely divided Congress that\u2019s heading towards a government shutdown.<\/p>\n Two dozen white roses were placed on her desk by members of the Senate, led by Democrat Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who choked back tears as he remembered his colleague as someone who changed the fabric of the chamber forever.<\/p>\n Fellow Californian and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi described her as a \u201cpillar of public service,\u201d whose career spanned from San Francisco\u2019s City Hall in the 1970s \u2013 where she found the assassinated body of activist Harvey Milk, California\u2019s first gay elected official \u2013 to the US Capitol in 1992.<\/p>\n Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden watch on during former president Barack Obama\u2019s inauguration as he embraces civil rights leader Reverend Joseph E. Lowery <\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n And President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein in the Senate for 15 years and recruited her to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he was its chairman, described her as a loyal friend who was tough, sharp, and \u201cnever pulled a punch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no better example of her skilful legislating and sheer force of will than when she turned passion into purpose, and led the fight to ban assault weapons,\u201d Biden recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cDianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. She\u2019s made history in so many ways, and our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n In a political career spanning more than five decades, Feinstein was a history maker and a glass-ceiling breaker.<\/p>\n Sean Penn played Harvey Milk on the big screen. Feinstein was the first person on the scene after the real Harvey Milk was assassinated.<\/span><\/p>\n She was the first female elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1971, and later became the city\u2019s first female mayor after the murders in 1978 of city supervisor Milk and then-mayor George Moscone.<\/p>\n \u201cI found Harvey on his stomach. I tried to get a pulse and put my finger through a bullet hole. He was clearly dead,\u201d she told her local newspaper at the time.<\/p>\n She later became California\u2019s first woman elected to the Senate, and has since been one of the most vocal advocates of gun control measures. She championed the assault weapons ban that lasted 10 years after then-president Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1994. Biden, with Feinstein\u2019s support, has been trying to reinstate the ban since winning the White House.<\/p>\n Feinstein was also the first woman to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee, where she led a contentious review of the CIA\u2019s detention and interrogation program after the September 11 terrorist attacks. That review resulted in laws barring the use of torture methods.<\/p>\n In recent years, Feinstein had faced a series of health problems and cognitive decline, sparking a broader debate in Washington about the gerontocracy of America\u2019s political class.<\/p>\n As the oldest representative in Congress, Democrats urged Feinstein to resign after an extended absence from work following a shingles diagnosis in February.<\/p>\n She returned to work in June and had announced she would not be recontesting her seat, but often appeared fragile and confused. This was evident in August when she unexpectedly began reciting a speech during a vote in the Senate and had to be told by colleagues to \u201cjust say \u2018Aye\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The unnerving episode took place one day after Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 81,\u00a0had to be escorted away after freezing for 23 seconds during a press conference, prompting questions about whether some of America\u2019s most senior politicians should still be in office.<\/p>\n Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze during a press conference in July.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Some candidates such as former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who is vying for the Republican nomination against Donald Trump, are now pushing for term limits in Congress and mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica is not past our prime \u2013 it\u2019s just that our politicians are past theirs,\u201d Hayley, 51, declared when she launched her candidacy for the presidency earlier this year.<\/p>\n Feinstein\u2019s death has now paved the way for a potentially bruising battle within the Democratic Party over who will take over her prized seat in California, which has been in the middle of a once-in-a-generation race to succeed her ever since she announced she would not seek re-election.<\/p>\n With a government shutdown looming, California Governor Gavin Newsome came under immediate pressure on Friday to quickly name a replacement as Congress was set to vote on a spending plan in the coming hours to avert a government shutdown.<\/p>\n Newsom has committed to appointing a black woman, but with more than a year left in Feinstein\u2019s term, the issue is likely to cause internal ructions among Democrats.<\/p>\n Three federal politicians are currently in the race for her California Senate seat: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, the only black woman running.<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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