Elizabeth Warren remembers Dianne Feinstein as a senator who "broke barriers"
WASHINGTON - Massachusetts senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey both praised the long career of California Senator Dianne Feinstein Friday, hours after her death.
Feinstein was the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate. She was 90 years old.
"From leading an assault weapons ban to championing LGBTQ+ rights and becoming the first woman to lead the Senate Rules and Intelligence committees, Dianne Feinstein broke barriers and fought for the American people. My heart goes out to her family and loves ones," said Warren in a statement.
"She was a path-breaker at a time when it was even harder for women to be in leadership roles," Warren later told reporters in Washington. "She was a woman who did her job and she did it with courage and conviction every day."
Markey also released a statement calling Feinstein a "legendary legislator" and a "trailblazer for the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community, and a staunch defender of our democratic principles."
"For decades, I was fortunate to count Dianne as a partner in protecting the American people from the existential threats of our time: advancing historic fuel economy standards to combat the climate crisis, championing an assault weapons ban to curb gun violence, and stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons to avert Armageddon. She was a consumer champion, a proponent of peace and diplomacy, and a public servant to her very core. Today marks a great loss for all those who knew and loved her, and for the countless more whose lives were touched by her service to our nation. My heart and thoughts are with her family and friends, and to our colleagues who called her friend."
Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992 after serving as mayor of San Francisco for 10 years.