Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is an American politician who is serving as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.
A native of San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955. In the 1960s, she worked in local government in San Francisco. Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969. She served as the board's first female president in 1978, during which time the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk by Dan White drew national attention. Feinstein succeeded Moscone as mayor and became the first woman to serve in that position. During her tenure, she led the renovation of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Despite a recall attempt in 1983, Feinstein was a very popular mayor and was named the most effective mayor in the country by City & State in 1987.
After losing a race for governor in 1990, Feinstein won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. The special election was triggered by the resignation of Pete Wilson, who defeated her in the 1990 gubernatorial election. Despite being elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, Feinstein became California's first female U.S. senator, as she was elected in a special election and sworn in before Boxer. She became the state's senior senator when Alan Cranston retired in January 1993. Feinstein has been reelected five times and in the 2012 election received 7.86 million votes, the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history.
Feinstein authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004. She introduced a new assault weapons bill in 2013 that failed to pass. Feinstein is the first woman to have chaired the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the first woman to have presided over a U.S. presidential inauguration. She was the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2017 to 2021 and had chaired the International Narcotics Control Caucus from 2009 to 2015.
At 89, Feinstein is the oldest sitting U.S. senator and member of Congress. In March 2021, she became the longest-serving U.S. senator from California, surpassing Hiram Johnson. Upon Don Young's death in March 2022, she became the oldest sitting member of Congress. Upon Barbara Mikulski's retirement in January 2017, Feinstein became the longest-tenured female senator in office; on November 5, 2022, she surpassed Mikulski's record as the longest-tenured female senator. With Patrick Leahy's retirement, she became the seniormost Senate Democrat on January 3, 2023. By tradition, this made her eligible for Senate president pro tempore, but she declined the position, which went to Patty Murray instead.
In January 2023, California representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff launched their campaigns for the Senate seat Feinstein holds. The following month, Feinstein announced she would not seek reelection to another term. Because of her age and reports of mental decline, Feinstein has been a frequent subject of discussion regarding her mental acuity and fitness to serve.
