DLNews Politics:

Dianne Feinstein, whose three decades in the Senate made her the longest-serving female US senator, has died following months of declining health. She was 90.

The Democrat, first elected to the Senate in 1992 and re-elected seven times, was known as an eloquent advocate for liberal priorities such as environmental protection and gun control and a pragmatic lawmaker who sought common ground with Republicans. Tributes were pouring in Friday from politicians on both sides of the aisle as Feinstein's Senate desk was draped with a black cloth and a vase of white flowers, per tradition. Her daughter Katherine sat in the gallery behind Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi as senators took to the floor to pay their respects.

A fierce debater who didn't suffer fools, Feinstein often used her sharp tongue to make her point in the Senate chamber or on television. But her health appeared to decline in the years leading up to her decision not to run for a sixth term last year, and she sometimes became confused when speaking publicly.

The senator's longtime aide, James Sauls, said in a statement that "few women can be called a senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mother and grandmother." He added: "Senator Feinstein was one of those women. She was a force of nature who left an incredible legacy on our nation and her beloved home state of California."

Feinstein, who was born in 1933 and graduated from Stanford University in 1955, served on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors before becoming its first female mayor after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and fellow supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. She rarely discussed the tragedy, but she did open up in a 2017 interview with CNN's Dana Bash. After losing a bid to become governor of California in 1990, she won a special election to fill the seat of longtime Sen. Pete Wilson in 1992.

As a senator, she broke several glass ceilings and was an influential member of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees. She helped craft the since-lapsed federal assault weapons ban and was a vocal critic of the CIA's torture program during the height of the terrorism wars.

A tireless campaigner, Feinstein ran for president twice in the 1980s and finished second to Walter Mondale. She was also on the shortlist of vice-presidential candidates in 1984, but she was passed over for the job in favor of Geraldine Ferraro.

Her death will give California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom the power to appoint a lawmaker to serve the rest of her term in 2025 through January. Potential successors, including fellow San Francisco Rep. Nancy Lee and California Democratic House members Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, are expected to seek the appointment. Newsom is due to decide who to nominate in the coming weeks. The appointee would have a significant advantage in next year's Senate race.