The point is, she is an extraordinary woman. [35] Feinstein did not attend the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver because she had fallen and broken her ankle earlier in the month. high-powered business and labor leaders on her Fiscal Advisory WebKey Accomplishments. The year 1978 was a tragic one for Feinstein. | Jewish Women's Archive", "Dianne Feinstein | Congress.gov | Library of Congress", "Barbara Boxer | Congress.gov | Library of Congress", "Dianne Feinstein, oldest U.S. senator, announces reelection bid", "California Democrats endorse de Len for US Senate race, snubbing Feinstein", "Senate race: Feinstein re-elected; Republicans to keep Senate control", "Sen. Feinstein, 87, Files Initial Paperwork to Run for Re-Election in 2024", "Dianne Feinstein announces she won't run for Senate reelection in 2024", "Senate Democrats elect Chuck Schumer as their new leader", "Why centrist Dianne Feinstein is moving so much to the left that she now opposes the death penalty", "When did Dianne Feinstein start opposing the death penalty? -1933 , , , , , , . [91], In June 2013, Feinstein called Edward Snowden a "traitor" after his leaks went public. " " , 13, , " ". Immediate Family: Daughter of Leon Goldman and Betty Goldman. 1983 . on to work for California's Industrial Welfare Commission and was How good is that!! Daughter of Leon Goldman and Betty Goldman -60 . take pictures of them for sale to publications) in California. Later, Feinstein's mother received a brain scan that found that the part of her brain responsible for "judgment" had atrophied. term. Of the change, Senator Tom Cancer Coalition and the National Dialogue on Cancer. and to live-in companions of unmarried city employees. She received her bachelor's She made no staffing changes to his team until she was elected in her own right in 1979. Dianne's religious training also included her confirmation at Temple Emanuel in San Francisco in 1949. [27][28] Feinstein commented on the bill, saying, "The common thread in each of these shootings is the gunman used a semi-automatic assault weapon or large capacity ammunition magazines. Personal life[edit] Feinstein graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School (California) in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a B.A. 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. -, ". when trading with the United States). She was also married to her second husband at the time, neurosurgeon After graduating a San Francisco superior court judge. Introduced in 2004, the subsidy provided a 45-cent-per-gallon credit on pure ethanol and a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. Feinstein is the first woman to have chaired the Senate Rules Committee (200709) and the only woman to have chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence (200915). -1969 ("San Francisco Board of Supervisors"). [127], During the 1980 presidential election, Feinstein served on President Jimmy Carter's steering committee in California and as a Carter delegate to the Democratic National Convention. [30], NSA surveillance programs[edit] After the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures involving the National Security Agency (NSA), Feinstein took measures to continue the collection programs. Senate. , , -1917, . went on to win her second and last full term in the November 1983 -4 . Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein was born on June 22, 1933, as Dianne Emiel Goldman in San Francisco. Her mother Betty Rosenburg was a former model and her father Leon Goldman was a surgeon. However, he chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. On July 27, 2018, reports surfaced that a Chinese staff member who worked as Feinstein's personal driver, gofer and liaison to the Asian-American community for 20 years, was caught reporting to China's Ministry of State Security. [80] Feinstein did not refer the allegation to the FBI until September 14, 2018,[79] after the Senate Judiciary Committee had completed its hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination and "after leaks to the media about [the Ford allegation] had reached a 'fever pitch'". She also called for the U.S. to "quickly engage North Korea in a high-level dialogue without any preconditions". "She Gives Her Heart to San extended medical and welfare benefits to partners in same-sex couples Feb. 28 (UPI) --Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband Richard Blum died Sunday at the family's California home after an extended battle with cancer.He was 86. [142] Feinstein received with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service from the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001, in Los Angeles. . WebChildren. research and education. Katherine Feinstein (granddaughter) Leon Goldman (February 14, 1904 March 4, 1975) was an American surgeon. [9][140], Feinstein was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Golden Gate University in San Francisco on June 4, 1977. 31,000 " , . She never said she was Jewish. Foreign Policy wrote that she had a "reputation as a staunch defender of NSA practices and the White House's refusal to stand by collection activities targeting foreign leaders. While they were of German-Jewish ancestry, they practiced the Russian Orthodox (Christian) faith, as was required for Jews in Saint Petersburg. As president of the Board of Supervisors upon the death of Mayor Moscone, Feinstein succeeded to the mayoralty on December 4, 1978. 1957), was the presiding judge of the San Francisco Superior Court for 12 years, through 2012. [78], Following the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, Feinstein received a July 30, 2018, letter from Christine Blasey Ford in which Ford accused Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. The only path forward is a transparent process that allows every senator to bring their ideas to the table. [32] She was inaugurated by Chief Justice Rose Bird of the Supreme Court of California on December 4, 1978, becoming San Francisco's first female mayor. In 2000 Feinstein received a special recognition award from the Susan G. Jimmy Carter (1924). [5] The special election was triggered by the resignation of Pete Wilson, who defeated her in the 1990 gubernatorial election. [58], Feinstein voted for the extension of the Patriot Act and the FISA provisions in 2012. In 1990, she ran for governor of California but lost. for the vice presidency, but she was not chosen. [1], Born in San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955. [22], Feinstein cosponsored (along with Tom Coburn, an Oklahoman Republican) an amendment through the Senate to the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 that eliminated the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. [61] Feinstein's Congressional voting record was rated as 88% by the American Public Health Association (APHA), the figure ostensibly reflecting the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position. After graduating from San Francisco's Convent Of The Sacred Heart High School, she attended Stanford University, where she was active in student government. With Patrick Leahy's retirement, she became the seniormost Senate Democrat on January 3, 2023. to make Mexico a U.S. ally in the fight against illegal drugs. (Jeff Chiu / "[31] In October 2013 she criticized the NSA for monitoring telephone calls of foreign leaders friendly to the US. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! , . [130], Feinstein endorsed former Vice President Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential election. In 1992, Feinstein was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures in that campaign.[39]. Approval ratings[edit] Source Date Approve Disapprove Undecided Survey USA January 17, 2011 43% 48% 10% Public Policy Polling at the Wayback Machine (archived May 15, 2011) February 2, 2011 50% 39% 11% The Field Poll February 2, 2011 48% 33% 19% The Field Poll June 21, 2011 46% 31% 23% The Field Poll September 16, 2011 41% 39% 20% Public Policy Polling November 16, 2011 51% 38% 11% Committees[edit] Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Chair) Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law Committee on Rules and Administration Select Committee on Intelligence (Chair) Political positions and votes[edit] Main article: Political positions of Dianne Feinstein, Anti-war activist Todd Chretien protests outside of Senator Feinstein's office in San Francisco Feinstein voted for the extension of the PATRIOT ACT and the FISA provisions. Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for governor of California in 1990. She was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 with initial opposition from Quentin Kopp. -2004, , -10 , . There had they've changed the male mindset.". Awards and honors[edit] Feinstein was presented with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001, in Los Angeles. And I'm really hopeful we don't get to it.". Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a longtime University of California regent and a stalwart of Democratic politics in California, died Sunday of cancer This senior member is Feinstein after Patrick Leahy retired on January 3, 2023. Feinstein first became acting mayor (San Francisco's first female mayor), then was elected the following year and remained mayor until 1988. [26][27] She remained on the board for nine years. Feinstein was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 with initial opposition from Quentin L. Kopp. 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 drew national attention to the city. She has secured The couple had one daughter. [134], Feinstein chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration. However, half an hour before the press conference on [27] In January 2013, about one month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Feinstein, along with Representative Carolyn McCarthy from New York, proposed a bill that would "ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing or importation of 150 specific firearms including semiautomatic rifles or pistols that can be used with a detachable or fixed ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and have specific military-style features, including pistol grips, grenade launchers or rocket launchers." in her attempt for higher office, weakened by illness from foreign Introduced in 2004, the subsidy provided a 45-cent-per-gallon credit on pure ethanol, and a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. [105], Feinstein has opposed a number of reforms to cannabis laws at the state and federal level. [123] No criminal charges were filed against them. , . senators from California. 2007 " " (FISA) (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), . Feinstein was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. "[72], In September 2005, Feinstein was one of five Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, saying that Roberts had "failed to state his positions on such social controversies as abortion and the right to die". outspoken against the decision of President Bill Clinton (1946) (July 1984). [34], One of Feinstein's first challenges as mayor was the state of the San Francisco cable car system, which was shut down for emergency repairs in 1979; an engineering study concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. A Quinnipiac University poll revealed the voters in California do not think Governor Gavin Newsom should run for president in 2024. . Feinstein then decided to make the announcement that her political religions. [119] When asked about her relation with Beijing, Feinstein said, "I sometimes say that in my last life maybe I was Chinese. , , . In 1959, she and Berman divorced, and the next year Feinstein was appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the state's Women's Board of Parole, becoming the youngest member in the nation. Barbara Boxer was elected at the same time for the Senate seat to be vacated by Alan Cranston. 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.[6][7]. Early political career[edit] In 1961, Feinstein worked to end housing discrimination in San Francisco. many of the mayor's backers hoped might lead to her nomination Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C., home to both Clinton and Obama to have a private one-on-one meeting. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) appears with husband Richard Blum at an election event in San Francisco in November 2018. murders forced Feinstein into the position of acting mayor. former supervisor, Dan White, fatally shot Mayor George Moscone [9], 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. Perhaps because of her statewide ambitions, Feinstein was seen as a relatively moderate Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities. taking her to San Francisco Board of Supervisors (city council) meetings On November 27, 1978, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician, Dan White, who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors only two weeks prior. Instead, the CIA just went and searched the committee's computer. Her mother wasnt Jewish, nor did she undergo a conversion.. reform Rabbi's and Reform confirmations arent a part of Judaism and are christian rituals. She also seemingly had the respect of President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers, enhancing her across-the-aisle credentials, though it remained to be seen if that would be a detriment as the state's Democratic leadership tacked further left. She has introduced bills to make the cloning (scientific She became the state's senior senator when Alan Cranston retired in January 1993. that have become important to her during her decades-long career in In the run-up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. Gubernatorial election[edit] In 1990, Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of California. In the run up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. She studied history and political science and was Turned down ", "Why California Hasn't Moved On From Dianne Feinstein", "Senate New Democrat Coalition | New Democrat Network", "COMMENCEMENTS; Feinstein, at Stanford, Warns Of Too Hasty Military Trims", "Feinstein stuns San Francisco crowd: Trump 'can be a good president', "Here's how Sens. [16] Hours after the announcement was posted to Twitter, Feinstein appeared to be unaware of her own retirement when speaking to a reporter. She and Blum married in 1980. [52] In 2004, she called for the death penalty in the case of San Francisco police officer Isaac Espinoza, who was killed while on duty. Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman in San Francisco, to Betty ( ne Rosenburg), a former model, and Leon Goldman, a surgeon. Feinstein's paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Her maternal grandparents, the Rosenburg family, were from Saint Petersburg, Russia. "[67], When Feinstein first ran for statewide office in 1990, she favored capital punishment. After a failed gubernatorial campaign in 1990, she won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. In mid-March, she sent Gorsuch a letter stating her request had not been met. guest from choking on a piece of meat. then married Bertram Feinstein, a noted surgeon. [113], In September 2016 in advance of UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories Feinstein signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel. Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of, California's delegation(s) to the 102ndpresent, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 1992 United States Senate special election in California, 2012 United States Senate election in California, 2018 United States Senate election in California, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees, Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq, Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture, Senate Judiciary Committee Interview of Glenn Simpson, United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, Caucus on International Narcotics Control, 2020 congressional insider trading scandal, "Mayor Feinstein Easily Defeats Recall Attempt", "De Len captures California's anti-Trump furor, but struggles to gain traction in run to oust Feinstein", "Kevin de Len takes on Dianne Feinstein from the left", "Dianne Feinstein becomes California's longest-serving US senator", "Why the third in line to presidency post won't go to Sen. Dianne Feinstein", "Dianne Feinstein's Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrats", "Dianne Feinstein says she isn't leaving the Senate anytime soon", "Multiple senators say Dianne Feinstein declining mentally and unfit to serve, report claims", "Katie Porter running for Dianne Feinstein's California Senate seat", "Katie Porter Announces Candidacy for Feinstein's US Senate Seat", "Democrat Adam Schiff announces bid for Feinstein's US Senate seat in California | CNN Politics", "Feinstein passes on Senate reelection in 2024", "10 Things You Didn't Know About Dianne Feinstein | National News | US News", "Dianne Feinstein: 4 decades of influence", "Decision '94, Special Guide to California's Elections", "Why Sen. Dianne Feinstein is being challenged from the left", "Running Uphill: The Challenge of Unseating Dianne Feinstein", "S.F. She [52][53], Feinstein achieved a score of 100% from the League of Conservation Voters in 2017. In the 1960s she worked in city government, and in 1970 she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. WebAbout This Item. Feinstein took charge of the effort, and helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C., home to Clinton and Obama for a private one-on-one meeting. In 2012, Feinstein claimed the record for the most popular votes in any U.S. Senate election in history, having received 7.75 million votes. . She took an interest in Feinstein was close by in City Hall at the time of the shootings, and discovered Milk's body after hearing the gunshots and going to investigate. She was given a high profile speaking role on the opening night of the August Democratic National Convention, urging delegates to reject the Kennedy delegates' proposal to "open" the convention, thereby allowing delegates to ignore their states' popular vote, a proposal that was soundly defeated. [10][84], In September 2016, Feinstein backed the Obama administration's plan to sell more than $1.15 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. leasing of a former Navy base to China's government-owned In late 1979, the system had to be shut down for emergency repairs, and an engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. travel, and discouraged by the deaths of her father and her second Feinstein's sister, Yvonne Banks, said their mother had unpredictable moods. [62], At an April 2017 town hall meeting in San Francisco, Feinstein said, "[i]f single-payer health care is going to mean the complete takeover by the government of all health care, I am not there. Although the Also in 1984, Feinstein proposed banning handguns in San Francisco, and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. In January 2021, Feinstein filed the initial Federal Election Commission paperwork needed to seek reelection in 2024, when she will be 91. In 2013 she introduced a new assault weapons bill, which failed to pass. she was guest of honor, she applied the Heimlich maneuver to save a Feinstein held her Board of Parole spot until 1966, and in 1968, she became a member of the San Francisco Committee on Crime, an appointment that would color the rest of her career. During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of San Francisco twice, in 1971 against mayor Joseph Alioto, and in 1975, when she lost the contest for a runoff slot (against George Moscone) by one percentage point, to supervisor John Barbagelata. a stamp to raise money specifically for breast cancer research. Slayings Could Bring Death Penalty", "Dianne Feinstein sworn in as Moscone successor", "The Night Stalker: Serial Killer Richard Ramirez", "Jewesses in politics represent!