Dianne Feinstein Biography 2023: U.S. Longest Serving Senator, Political Career, Family and Death
Dianne Feinstein (born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until she died in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.
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Dianne Feinstein
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Official portrait, 2004
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| United States Senator from California |
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| In office November 4, 1992 – September 29, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | John Seymour |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| 38th Mayor of San Francisco | |
| In office November 27, 1978 – January 8, 1988 Acting: November 27, 1978 – December 4, 1978 |
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| Preceded by | George Moscone |
| Succeeded by | Art Agnos |
| President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors | |
| In office January 9, 1978 – December 4, 1978 |
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| Preceded by | Quentin L. Kopp |
| Succeeded by | John Molinari |
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors | |
| In office January 8, 1970 – December 4, 1978 |
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| Preceded by | William Blake |
| Succeeded by | Louise Renne |
| Constituency |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Dianne Emiel Goldman
June 22, 1933 |
| Died | September 29, 2023 (aged 90) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Katherine |
| Parent |
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| Education | Stanford University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
FULL NAME: Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein
Born: June 22, 1933
DIED: September 28, 2023
BIRTHPLACE: San Francisco, California
SPOUSE: Jack Berman (1956-1959), Bertram Feinstein (1962-1978), and Richard Blum (1980-2022)
CHILD: Katherine
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer
Education
Goldman grew up in San Francisco’s upscale Presidio Terrace district. She attended public school through the eighth grade and eventually became the only Jewish student at an elite Roman Catholic high school, the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. In 1951 she entered Stanford University, first as a premed student and then as a political science and history major. After graduating in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree, she interned at the Coro Foundation in San Francisco, an organization whose goal was to provide young people with political experience.
Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978. Feinstein became acting mayor as she was president of the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors John Molinari, Ella Hill Hutch, Ron Pelosi, Robert Gonzales, and Gordon Lau endorsed Feinstein for an appointment as mayor by the Board of Supervisors. Gonzales initially ran to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors as mayor but dropped out. The Board of Supervisors voted six to two to appoint Feinstein as mayor. She was inaugurated by Chief Justice Rose Bird of the Supreme Court of California on December 4, 1978, becoming San Francisco’s first female mayor. Molinari was selected to replace Feinstein as president of the Board of Supervisors by a vote of eight to two.
One of Feinstein’s first challenges as mayor was the state of the San Francisco cable car system, which was shut down for emergency repairs in 1979; an engineering study concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding for $60 million. Feinstein helped win federal funding for the bulk of the work. The system closed for rebuilding in 1982 and it was completed just in time for the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Feinstein also oversaw policies to increase the number of high-rise buildings in San Francisco.
Feinstein was seen as a relatively moderate Democrat in one of the country’s most liberal cities. As a supervisor, she was considered part of the centrist bloc that included White and generally opposed Moscone. As mayor, Feinstein angered the city’s large gay community by vetoing domestic partner legislation in 1982. In the 1980 presidential election, while a majority of Bay Area Democrats continued to support Senator Ted Kennedy’s primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter even after it was clear Kennedy could not win, Feinstein strongly supported the Carter–Mondale ticket. She was given a high-profile speaking role on the opening night of the August Democratic National Convention, urging delegates to reject the Kennedy delegates’ proposal to “open” the convention, thereby allowing delegates to ignore their states’ popular vote, a proposal that was soundly defeated.
In the run-up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. He chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. In 1982, Feinstein proposed banning handguns in San Francisco and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. She won the recall election and finished her second term as mayor on January 8, 1988.
Feinstein revealed sensitive details about the hunt for serial killer Richard Ramirez at a 1985 press conference, antagonizing detectives by publicizing details of his crimes known only to law enforcement, and thus jeopardizing their investigation.
City & State magazine named Feinstein the nation’s “Most Effective Mayor” in 1987. She was a member of the Trilateral Commission in 1988.
Gubernatorial election
Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for governor of California in 1990. She won the Democratic Party’s nomination but lost the general election to Republican Senator Pete Wilson, who resigned from the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992, Feinstein was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures in that campaign.
U.S. Senate Career
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After a failed 1990 attempt to win the California governorship, Feinstein regrouped and ran in a special election for a seat in the U.S. Senate two years later. She won and was sworn in a week later on November 10, 1992.
Feinstein was reelected five times, beginning with the 1994 election. In the Senate, the moderate Democrat championed gun control and crime reduction efforts, LGBTQ rights, environmental protections, and consumer protections, among other issues. Feinstein was the first woman member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the first woman to chair the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
Her first term as California’s first female senator was a busy and productive one, as she co-authored the Gun-Free Schools Act and the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act, both signed into law in 1994. Feinstein also spearheaded legislation banning the manufacture, sale, and possession of military-style assault weapons, which was signed into law on September 13, 1994. Although the final bill was a diluted version of Feinstein’s original legislation, it outlawed weapons like Kalashnikov- and AR–15–style rifles typically used in mass shootings. This legislation became one of Feinstein’s best-known legislative accomplishments. The ban expired in 2004, and efforts by Feinstein and other Democrats to renew it haven’t succeeded.
Feinstein was one of just 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage in the United States. She joined an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage, which it ultimately did with the landmark case United States v. Windsor in 2013. Feinstein also introduced the Senate version of the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed DOMA and required all states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex marriage. The act was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2022.
The protection and preservation of California deserts had been a priority for Feinstein from her first term when she sponsored the Desert Protection Act of 1994, which established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Mojave National Preserve. The law protected more than 7.6 million acres of California desert wilderness. Feinstein pushed for the passage of additional public land bills to update and expand those protections.
With her nose always to the political grindstone, Feinstein authored and saw signed into law the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 and introduced the Federal Gang Violence Act, which passed as part of the 1997 Juvenile Justice bill (but was not acted on by the House of Representatives).
Personal life
On July 17, 2023, Feinstein ceded power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine.
Decline in health
Feinstein had an artificial cardiac pacemaker inserted at George Washington University Hospital in January 2017.
In 2020, investigative journalist Jane Mayer reported that it had been evident to some colleagues and staffers for several years that Feinstein was experiencing cognitive decline. Mayer reported that among various short-term memory issues, Feinstein could not remember Chuck Schumer’s repeated attempts to convince her to relinquish her leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Stories of Feinstein’s cognitive issues continued to circulate in the press for the last few years of her life: in 2022, The New York Times reported that she struggled to remember her colleagues’ names, meetings she had attended, and phone calls she had received. When asked about Feinstein’s situation, some colleagues and staffers argued that Feinstein was following in the footsteps of Strom Thurmond, who remained in office with mental infirmity till 100 years of age.
In March 2023, Feinstein was diagnosed with shingles and hospitalized. She then suffered complications, including encephalitis, which caused swelling in her brain, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which caused paralysis on the left side of her face and problems with her balance and eyesight. This delayed her return to the Senate. Feinstein, then 89, returned to the Senate floor in early May 2023, after a 10-week absence. At the time, she was described as noticeably thinner and frail, using a wheelchair. Soon after her return, when asked about her absence, Feinstein told reporters, “I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” raising further questions about her memory loss.
In August 2023, Feinstein was hospitalized after falling at her home in San Francisco. A spokesperson said it was “a minor fall” and Feinstein was subsequently cleared to return home.
Death
Feinstein died from natural causes at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 29, 2023, at the age of 90.
Feinstein received many tributes from politicians such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; President Joe Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris; former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; former Secretary of State and senate colleague Hillary Clinton; fellow Senators Alex Padilla, Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Kristen Gillibrand, Patty Murray, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, and Chuck Grassley; Representatives Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, and Katie Porter, who are running for Feinstein’s senate seat in the 2024 election; and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is expected to appoint Feinstein’s replacement. He had previously promised to appoint a black woman.
Her death marked the first time an active senator had died since John McCain died in 2018 from brain cancer.
