Veteran US Senator Dianne Feinstein passes away at 90

Washington, DC: Veteran Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away at the age of 90, US-based ABC7 news reported citing a confirmation from her office on Friday.

Following her demise, James Sauls, the chief of staff to Sen. Feinstein, released a statement that read, "Sadly, Senator Feinstein passed away last night at her home in Washington, D.C. Her passing is a great loss for so many, from those who loved and cared for her to the people of California that she dedicated her life to serving," reported ABC7 news.

In 1960, Feinstein made her first venture into politics when then-Gov. Pat Brown chose her to serve on the California Women's Parole Board.

Feinstein, however, didn't hold public office until he was 35 years old and was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Feinstein unsuccessfully campaigned for mayor twice in the 1970s while serving as the first female president of the Board of Supervisors. When disaster struck the city, she had already decided she would not run again, according to ABC7 news.

Feinstein was appointed following the tragic murder of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone by Supervisor Dan White in 1978. Feinstein was elected mayor for the first time in 1979 and immediately set about changing the city. Born as Dianne Goldman on June 22, 1933, in San Francisco, she was brought up by a Russian Orthodox mother and a Jewish father.

Feinstein completed her education at Stanford University, where she received her degree in 1955. She later went on to wed three times.

She survived a recall attempt during the ten years she was in office, which was mostly driven by opponents of her plan to outlaw handguns in San Francisco. She was in charge of changing the city's skyline, which some criticised as "Manhattanizing" San Francisco, as per ABC7 news report.

In Congress, Feinstein served as the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee. She was the chief author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which put a ten-year ban on some semi-automatic weapons.

Concerns regarding Feinstein's mental health and capacity for office were voiced during her later years in office. She was the Congresswoman who had served the longest.

At the age of 89, she was hospitalised with shingles in late February of 2023. This health concern occurred in the same month that Feinstein revealed she will leave the US Senate once her current term expires in 2024. She informed the media that it was time. (ANI)