Dianne Feinstein dies at 90: Retracing US first female senator's enthralling political journey

Dianne Feinstein, a US senator from California and centrist Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 1992—the "Year of the Woman"—and who over the course of her lengthy career in local and federal politics broke down obstacles for women, has passed away at 90 years old.

Feinstein passed away on Thursday night at her residence in Washington, DC, her office announced on Friday.

President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, called Feinstein “a pioneering American,” a “true trailblazer” and a “cherished friend” for him and first lady Jill Biden.

“Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties,” Biden said in a statement. “She’s made history in so many ways, and our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.”

As the senior senator of the United States, Feinstein was a fervent supporter of liberal causes dear to her home state, such as abortion rights, environmental protection, and gun control. 

However, she was also a pragmatist who sought common ground with Republicans.

She was chosen to serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969, and in 1978, after Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed at City Hall by a disgruntled former supervisor named Dan White, she was elected as the board's first female president. Milk's body was located by Feinstein.

Feinstein succeeded Moscone as San Francisco's first female mayor after the latter's passing. She was one of the first two female senators from California, the first woman to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the first woman to hold the top Democratic position on the Judiciary Committee.

Even if the feminist movement did not always support Feinstein, her life experiences influenced her perspective throughout her five decades in politics.

“I recognise that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right,” she told the Associated Press in 2005, as the Judiciary Committee prepared to hold hearings on President George W. Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court.

“So I must tell you, I try to look out for women’s rights. I also try to solve problems as I perceive them, with legislation, and reaching out where I can, and working across the aisle,” she said.

Feinstein’s chief of staff, James Sauls, called her “a force of nature who made an incredible impact” on California and on the nation and said she “left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary.”

“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 in a statement.