First elected in 1992, Senator Dianne Feinstein was the longest-tenured female senator in US history and California’s longest-serving senator.|Benjamin Dunn|CC BY-SA 2.0

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazing figure in American politics, passed away at 90 in her Washington DC residence.

First elected in 1992, she was the longest-tenured female senator in US history and California’s longest-serving senator.

Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest member, was a staunch advocate for gun control and women’s rights, and after her election, she put forth several landmark bills like the assault weapons ban in 1994.

Feinstein was the first woman to have chaired the Senate Rules Committee (2007–2009) and the Select Committee on Intelligence (2009–2015).

A temporary replacement will be appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom.