Who was Dianne Feinstein? Longest serving women senator whom US President Joe Biden fondly remembers as friend?
Dianne Feinstein was the first female senator to be elected from California, she served six terms and became the longest-serving woman senator in American history. She died on Friday at her Washington home at the age of 90. Feinstein served Senate for thirty years and was the key person in moving many important bills in the house.
Liberal vanguard
She was one of the Democratic Party's liberal vanguards, she championed the legalization of same-sex marriage and a ban on assault-style weapons. She transformed herself from a barrier-breaking Democrat to one of Washington's establishment members, respected by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Difficult early life
Born Dianne Emiel Goldman in 1933 in San Francisco, she had to struggle in the early days of he life. According to Jerry Roberts, author of the Feinstein biography 'Never Let Them See You Cry', Feinstein's mother, Betty, was an alcoholic and used to frequently beat her and her two sisters. She chased Dianne with a knife and once nearly drowned one of Feinstein's sisters in a bathtub.
Feinstein's life was shaped by her surgeon father, Leon, a barrier-breaker himself He was the first Jewish chair of surgery at the University of California at San Francisco's medical school.
Joe Biden mourns Feinstein's death
Feinstein's death has been mourned by her colleagues, friends, and party men, including President Joe Biden. Confirming her death, her chief of staff, James Sauls, called her «a force of nature who made an incredible impact on our country and her home state.» According to ABC News, Feinstein's Senate desk was draped in black cloth beneath a vase bursting with white roses. Besides, flags outside the Capitol were lowered to half-staff.
Mourning the
