CNN
—
Sheila Jackson Lee, a longtime Democratic congresswoman from Texas who was an outspoken advocate for Black Individuals for many years, has died. She was 74.
“Right this moment, with unbelievable grief for our loss but deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announce the passing of United States Consultant Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas,” her household mentioned in a press release Friday.
Jackson Lee introduced in June that she had been recognized with pancreatic most cancers. On the time, she acknowledged that “the highway forward won’t be simple” and mentioned she had “religion that God will strengthen me.”
Her household remembered her as “a fierce champion of the folks,” saying that “she was affectionately and easily often known as ‘Congresswoman’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and repair to their each day lives for greater than 30 years.”
Born on January 12, 1950, in Queens, New York, Jackson Lee was among the many first girls to graduate from Yale College and served as a Houston municipal choose and a metropolis councilwoman earlier than she was first elected to signify Texas’ 18th Congressional District in 1994, unseating a Democratic incumbent within the main for the Houston-area seat.
Throughout her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee was an outspoken advocate for progressive pursuits and Black Individuals. She was one of many sponsors of laws to determine Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, often spoke out towards police brutality and advocated federal laws to prosecute police misconduct.
She was extensively admired amongst progressives for her opposition to the Iraq Struggle and was a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump. She opposed the tallying of electoral votes certifying Trump because the winner of the 2016 election, citing an unfounded declare about “huge voter suppression,” and sometimes used her place on the Home Judiciary Committee to excoriate members of Trump’s circle.
Though she was unsuccessful in a few of her most bold goals, Jackson Lee remained an advocate for racial justice, significantly within the wake of George Floyd’s killing by the hands of police in 2020.
“We won’t cease till the nation is aware of Black lives matter, and reparations are handed as essentially the most vital civil rights laws of the twenty first century,” Jackson Lee mentioned at a march in Washington in 2020.
On the time of her loss of life, she was a chief deputy whip for Home Democrats and a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She previously served as whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a patriot and a fighter to the very finish. Phrases can not categorical the sense of loss our Caucus feels for our beloved good friend. She can be deeply missed by all who knew her,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford and members of the Congressional Black Caucus mentioned in a press release following her loss of life.
Jackson Lee’s tenure in Congress was not with out controversy. Her ties to Enron – her district included the company’s headquarters and it was a significant contributor to her early congressional campaigns, The New York Occasions reported – have been scrutinized within the aftermath of the corporate’s failure within the early 2000s, although she denied taking it simple on the corporate.
And in 2019, she resigned as chairwoman of the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Basis and stepped down from a Home Judiciary subcommittee chairmanship after a lawsuit that alleged she fired a staffer who reported sexual assault by a supervisor on the basis. On the time, Jackson Lee declined to “talk about particular particulars about inside personnel issues” however in any other case denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was in the end dismissed by a federal choose in February 2020.
Final 12 months, Lee sought the Houston mayorship, incomes endorsements from former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Invoice Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Harris County Choose Lina Hidalgo. She misplaced in a runoff to Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, a fellow Democrat.
Following that loss, Jackson Lee filed to hunt a sixteenth time period in Congress, and in March, she received a aggressive Democratic main over former Houston Metropolis Council Member Amanda Edwards, a former intern.
Home Democratic Chief Hakeem Jeffries mentioned in a press release that Home Democrats and the town of Houston “mourn an enormous,” remembering the congresswoman as “an completed legislator, passionate public servant, loving mentor and great good friend to so many people within the Congressional Black Caucus and Home Democratic Caucus household.”
“I’m grateful for her fearless advocacy, fierce dedication, formidable service and legacy of management,” Jeffries mentioned.
Calling her loss of life a “large loss,” Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer wrote on X that the congresswoman “fought so onerous all through her life to make our nation a greater place for all.”
“I’ve by no means recognized a harder-working political chief than Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who studied each invoice and each modification with exactitude after which instructed Texas and America precisely the place she stood,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said on X.
On CNN’s “Laura Coates Stay,” fellow Texas Rep. Al Inexperienced remembered Jackson Lee as “somebody in Congress that was at all times, at all times working to deliver a couple of simply decision to any downside,” including that she helped him grow to be a greater congressman.
In Congress, she developed a fame for grabbing a seat near the entranceway within the Home chamber for the president’s annual State of the Union handle so she might interact with the commander in chief. It wasn’t for the picture alternatives, she insisted to The Huffington Put up in 2016, it was additionally a chance to shortly conduct enterprise with presidents.
As to why she was in a position to achieve common entry to such a prized perch, she mentioned, “Due to so many good associates, I’m welcomed in that seat.”
Funeral preparations are pending, in line with the household.
“Her legislative victories impacted hundreds of thousands, from establishing the Juneteenth Federal Vacation to reauthorizing the Violence Towards Girls Act. Nonetheless, she impacted us most as our beloved spouse, sister, mom, and Bebe (grandmother),” her household mentioned Friday. “She can be dearly missed, however her legacy will proceed to encourage all who imagine in freedom, justice, and democracy.”
This story has been up to date with further particulars.
CNN’s Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.