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  1. As of October 3, 2023, there are 25 women (15 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and 1 Independent) serving as U.S. senators. Additionally, Kamala Harris as vice president serves as President of the Senate . Nancy Kassebaum is currently the oldest living former female member of the Senate at the age 91.

  2. Senate vacant of women (January 3, 1945–October 6, 1948) Vera C. Bushfield (1889–1976) Republican: South Dakota: October 6, 1948: Upon taking office December 26, 1948: 81 days 81 days First Republican woman to serve in the Senate Appointment ended Senate vacant of women (December 26, 1948–January 3, 1949) Margaret C. Smith (1897–1995 ...

    Image
    Name (lifespan)
    Party
    District
    Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973)
    March 4, 1917
    Alice Robertson (1854–1931)
    March 4, 1921
    Mae Nolan (1886–1973)
    January 23, 1923
    Florence Kahn (1866–1948)
    March 4, 1925
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    • Overview
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    • Early career and mayorship of San Francisco
    • Senate
    • Personal life

    Dianne Feinstein (born June 22, 1933, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died September 28, 2023, Washington, D.C.) American Democratic politician who represented California in the U.S. Senate from 1992 to 2023. She was the first woman to serve as senator from that state. Feinstein had previously served as the first female mayor of San Francisco (1978...

    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 scienc...

    From 1960 to 1966 Feinstein worked on the California Women’s Board of Terms and Parole. She chaired San Francisco’s Advisory Committee for Adult Detention from 1966 to 1968, and in 1969 she won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served in this role for nine years and was the board’s first female president (1970–71, 1974–75, 1978).

    In 1971 and again in 1975, she ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco. In 1978, when Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated, Feinstein, as president of the Board of Supervisors, succeeded to the mayoral position. Just a few days before the assassinations, the followers of Jim Jones—most of whom were former Bay Area residents—had committed mass suicide at their compound in Guyana. Feinstein’s leadership during this difficult time in the city’s history earned her much respect and public support. She was elected mayor in her own right in 1979 and served until 1988. While in office, she received high marks for improving city services such as garbage collection and transportation and for furthering gay rights. In 1982, however, she opposed a measure that would have granted registered domestic partners the right to some benefits, such as insurance; that position cost her the support of much of her constituency.

    After serving the maximum of two terms, Feinstein ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of California in 1990, losing to Republican Sen. Pete Wilson. When Wilson won the election and vacated his Senate position, she was elected to his seat. She was sworn into office in November 1992 for a special two-year term and was reelected to a full six-year term in 1994.

    In office Feinstein wrote legislation that included a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of semiautomatic military combat weapons and drafted the California Desert Protection Act, which called for the protection of more than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of desert, national parks, and nature reserves. During her career she continued to focus on criminal justice and environmental concerns. She served on several committees during her tenure in the Senate, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which she was the first female member, the Appropriations Committee, the Rules and Administration Committee, and the Select Committee on Intelligence. In 2007, when the Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate, Feinstein became the first woman to serve as chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.

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    Though initially endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2008, Feinstein later threw her support behind the successful campaign of Barack Obama. In 2009 she became the first woman to chair the Select Committee on Intelligence. Feinstein was criticized by liberal Democrats for her skepticism regarding passage of a health care reform bill, though she ultimately voted in favour of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; 2010). She also campaigned for the sweeping financial reforms passed in 2010.

    In the 2014 midterms, the Republicans regained control of the Senate, and Feinstein’s tenure as chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence ended the following year. In the 2016 presidential election, Feinstein again supported Clinton, who ultimately won the Democratic nomination but lost to Republican Donald Trump. In 2017 Feinstein drew the ire of progressives who disapproved of her centrist approach; she notably said that Trump “can be a good president.” However, the senator opposed many of his policies, including a massive tax-reform bill that was passed in 2017. That year she helped defeat a Republican effort to repeal the PPACA. In 2018 Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court. Feinstein was subsequently sent a confidential letter from Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s. After the allegation was leaked to the media, the senator referred the letter to the FBI, and Ford eventually testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein joined other Democrats in voting against Kavanaugh’s nomination, but he was ultimately confirmed.

    In 1956 she married Jack Berman, and the couple had a daughter—who later became a judge—before divorcing in 1959. Three years later she wed Bertram Feinstein, who died in 1978. In 1980 she married Richard C. Blum; they were together until his death in 2022.

  4. Dianne Feinstein. Dianne Emiel Feinstein [b] ( née Goldman; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

  5. Subscribe. On November 21, 1922, Rebecca Felton of Georgia took the oath of office, becoming the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Though her legacy has been tarnished by her racism, the significance of this milestone—now 100 years old—remains. Felton’s historic appointment opened the door for other women senators to follow.

  6. Sep 29, 2023 · Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate, the longest-serving female senator and the longest-serving senator from California, announced in February that she planned to retire at the end of 2024 ...

  7. Sep 29, 2023 · The longest-serving GOP Senate leader in history cited age as a factor. Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate who had a sprawling legacy, faced scrutiny over health concerns and her ability to serve during her final years in office. By the numbers: The oldest senators are the following: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.), 90