Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the California desert's 'greatest champions,' has died at 90

WASHINGTON −Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer for women in politics in California and Washington who spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate, has died. She was 90.

Known for working across the aisle while championing progressive causes, Feinstein planned to retire at the end of her term after facing concerns about her health and calls to resign. The oldest current member of the Senate, she died at her home in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night, according to a statement from her office.

“There are few women who can be called senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mom and grandmother," Feinstein's chief of staff, James Sauls, said. “She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary. There is much to say about who she was and what she did, but for now, we are going to grieve the passing of our beloved boss, mentor and friend.”

President Joe Biden was one of many prominent political and cultural leaders to publicly mourn her passing. In a statement issued by the White House, Biden — a longtime Senate colleague of Feinstein's — called her "a pioneering American. A true trailblazer. And for Jill and me, a cherished friend."

"Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans — a job she took seriously by mentoring countless public servants, many of whom now serve in my Administration," Biden said. "She had an immense impact on younger female leaders for whom she generously opened doors. Dianne was tough, sharp, always prepared, and never pulled a punch, but she was also a kind and loyal friend, and that’s what Jill and I will miss the most."

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Making history in California, then Washington

Feinstein made history as the first woman elected as mayor in San Francisco and the first woman in the Senate from the state of California. She became the first woman to chair the powerful Senate Rules and Senate Intelligence committees, a perch from which she played an outsized role in some of the most pressing issues of the day, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Many other parts of American life have been marked by her fingerprints as well, from fighting for an assault weapons ban in 1994 to enshrining marriage equality into law in 2022. She also ushered in Amber Alerts and the Violence Against Women Act.

Feinstein was especially passionate about gun control. Early in her Senate career, Feinstein championed gun control advocacy by authoring the 1994 assault weapons ban, which then-President Bill Clinton signed into law. Since the law expired in 2004, Feinstein spearheaded further efforts for stronger gun control legislation.

The last vote Feinstein took was Thursday morning in a Senate effort to prevent a government shutdown.

As news of Feinstein’s passing poured in, the House Rules Committee held a moment of silence in honor of the California Democrat during a meeting on a spending package to avert a government shutdown.“I know many of us had the opportunity to deal with her and certainly all of us on both sides of the aisle respect her,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chair of the House Rules committee, said Friday morning.

Breaking barriers, blazing trails

Former first lady and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Feinstein “blazed trails for women in politics and found a life's calling in public service. I'll miss her greatly as a friend and colleague and send my condolences to all who loved her.”

Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992, dubbed the "Year of the Woman."

She broke another barrier in 1978 when she became the first female president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Feinstein went on to become San Francisco's first female mayor, one of California's first two female senators, the first woman to lead the Senate Intelligence Committee and serve as the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat.

"I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told the Associated Press in 2005. At the time, she was sitting on the Judiciary Committee holding hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.

Health concerns

Feinstein had been dogged by health problems during her last months in office, which had spurred calls from progressive lawmakers to resign during her last months in office.

For at least three months she had been sidelined from the Senate with shingles. She also was briefly hospitalized after suffering a fall at her California home and had been reportedly confused when taking certain votes. Other reports said the longtime senator had turned her power of attorney over to her daughter.

Those incidents sparked a larger conversation about the age of U.S. officials, including Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who are in their early 80s.

Outpouring of emotions by lawmakers, nonprofit leaders

Praise for Feinstein came immediately from both Democrats and Republicans.

In tearful remarks Friday morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for the Senate to observe a moment of silence in honor of Feinstein.

“Earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate,” he said.

Schumer said Feinstein was “one of the most amazing people who ever graced the Senate” and the country. He highlighted Feinstein’s integrity and her accomplishments, listing off several like her work fighting for climate justice, marriage equality, reproductive justice and how she has served as the longest-serving female senator in history.

“Dianne Feinstein fought for what was right, even if it was hard and difficult and took months and years to dig in and find out what actually went wrong,” Schumer said.

“Today, we grieve. We look at that desk and we know what we have lost,” Schumer added, turning to face Feinstein’s desk, which was draped with a black cloth and a vase of white roses.

McConnell also spoke to Feinstein’s passing Friday morning on the Senate floor, calling her a “truly remarkable individual” and a “trailblazer.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, said despite her political differences with Feinstein, they worked together to determine the origins of COVID-19 and to update the Violence Against Women Act to protect women from sexual assault and domestic violence.

“Senator Dianne Feinstein’s life of service blazed a trail for women in politics and the future of girls across the nation,” Ernst said. “Dianne will be missed; she leaves behind an incredible legacy of bipartisanship.”

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, released the following statement on Feinstein's death:

“I am deeply saddened by the recent passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein – a trailblazer for our democracy and all of us in California and across the nation,” Ruiz said in the statement. “I had the honor of working with Senator Feinstein on legislation to better the lives of our constituents’ issues like funding for the Salton Sea, improving access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center and creating the Sand to Snow National Monument. Her perseverance, integrity, and compassion will always be remembered in the halls of Congress, and she will be remembered across the nation as a champion for women's rights, gun violence prevention, and LGTBQ+ rights.”

Nonprofit conservation group the Mojave Desert Land Trust called Feinstein one of the California desert's "greatest champions," noting her work on protecting some of the most popular public lands in the California desert.

Following an earlier introduction by Senator Alan Cranston that didn't pass, Feinstein introduced the historic California Desert Protection Act that was signed into law in 1994. The legislation conserved nearly 9.2 million acres of public lands and established Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave National Preserve.

In 2016, Feinstein supported conservation groups in petitioning President Barack Obama to designate the Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow National Monuments, according to the Mojave Desert Land Trust. A few years later, Feinstein co-sponsored the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act, which added 43,000 acres to Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and designated 375,000 acres of wilderness and more than 70 miles of wild and scenic rivers.

"She will be greatly missed but her legacy lives on in the growing community that is working to preserve the desert for future generations,” said Mojave Desert Land Trust Joint Executive Directors Cody Hanford and Kelly Herbinson in a written statement.

Palm Springs resident, former reporter recalls her 'authenticity'

Palm Springs resident Hank Plante, who covered Feinstein going back to her time as mayor of San Francisco during his multi-decade career in TV news in the Bay Area, called the senator "the last of an era."

"She didn't pull any punches, and she was hard to box in," he said. "Politics today is very tribal, but she was left on some issues and right on other issues, and she really did get things done."

Plante, who is gay, said Feinstein's unique mix of left and right politics was evident going back to her time as mayor, when she vetoed a city ordinance that would've allowed same-sex couples to register as domestic partners and receive benefits like health insurance. But at the same time, Feinstein's budget for dealing with the AIDS crisis in San Francisco was bigger then President Ronald Reagan's AIDS budget for the entire nation.

He added that Feinstein did eventually come around on domestic partnerships and went on to become "one of the strongest voices in support of gay and lesbian marriage" later in her career.

"She wasn't afraid to change her mind," he said. "I think people crave authenticity in politicians and she really was authentic."

Plante said Feinstein told him she spent a lot of time in Palm Springs with her second husband, Bert Feinstein, who owned a home in the Twin Palms neighborhood near the Ocotillo Lodge, and had fond memories of that time in the city. The couple were married from 1962 until Bert's death in 1978.

The longtime reporter also recalled how Feinstein "really studied news stories" and would often reach out to him when she felt he'd left something out. He added that while a reporter could be a pain in the neck for a politician, she once gave him a signed photo of the two of them that poked fun at that fact, which he said showed her unique respect for journalists.

"I certainly respected and admired her," he said. "In politics, some people are thin-skinned and some politicians are above the fray. She was above the fray."

First and foremost, a figher for Californians

In his statement announcing her passing, Feinstein chief of staff Sauls noted that despite her national stature on so many fronts, the veteran senator always fought for her California constituents.

“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,” Sauls said.

That included playing a key role in environmental issues affecting the nation’s most populous state.

In a statement four days before her death, Feinstein and fellow California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla announced that six grants have been awarded to California rail projects by the Department of Transportation. The money will fund projects to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.

Feinstein was an especially potent force on climate change issues, given California’s long coastline and role as a breadbasket of American agriculture.

On her Senate office website, Feinstein reserved a prominent place for that issue, urging Californians to join her in the fight to decrease man-made greenhouse gases emissions produced by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

Feinstein implored her constituents to reduce their carbon footprint by adopting more efficient technologies, promoting zero-emission vehicles and embracing renewable energy sources. At the same time, she said, the United States must prepare for more extreme weather patterns and build its infrastructure to be more resilient.

“Changing course won’t be easy. It will require us to manage problems that previous generations never faced,” Feinstein wrote. “But solutions are possible. We must move forward as fast as we can — in our personal choices, in our local communities, as a state, through federal policy, and by upholding and advancing international agreements.”

USA TODAY journalists Josh Meyer, Candy Woodall, Rachel Looker, Ken Tran, David Jackson, and Phillip M. Bailey wrote the original story. Desert Sun reporters Paul Albani-Burgio and Erin Rode added reporting from Southern California.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 'Trailblazer' Sen. Dianne Feinstein dead at 90