US Sen. Dianne Feinstein dead at 90

( NYPost )

US Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has died at the age of 90, following a number of health scares, reports said Friday.

Feinstein was the oldest member of the Senate and had announced plans to retire at the end of her term.

Her death was first reported by ABC7 Insider. NBC News also reported her death, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Her cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

She had faced calls for her resignation in recent years over concerns about her health.

In August, the long-serving senator was rushed to a hospital after tripping and falling in her hometown of San Francisco, her office announced at the time.

“Senator Feinstein briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home. All of her scans were clear and she returned home,” a spokesperson told The Post.

The Democrat suffered “no serious injuries” from the tumble, her spokesperson stressed.

Feinstein had earlier missed out on three months in the Senate following a battle with shingles.

During her absence, the senator missed dozens of key votes and was blamed by some progressives for slowing the progress of President Biden’s controversial picks for federal judgeships through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

When she announced her plans to retire from office in February, Biden praised his former colleague — calling her “a passionate defender of civil liberties and a strong voice for national security policies that keep us safe while honoring our values.”

“I’ve served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone,” he said in a statement at the time. “I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best.”

Feinstein made a name for herself in Congress as a vocal advocate for gun control, consistently pushing for more restrictive measures since the assault weapons ban expired in 2004, and led a multi-year review of the CIA’s detention and interrogation measures in the aftermath of 9/11 as the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The investigation ultimately prompted Congress to pass legislation banning the use of torture.

But Feinstein also butted heads with some of the more liberal members of her party, as she tried to find common ground with Republicans.

She parted ways with the liberal Democrats on a number of issues, including opposing the idea of single-payer, government-run health care and speaking out against the Green New Deal — which she argued was politically and fiscally unfeasible.

Then, when she hugged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham for his handling of then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings in October 2020, Feinstein faced a number of calls to step down as the ranking member of the panel.

She ultimately caved in, and announced plans to step down in November 2020, saying she planned to focus her efforts on combating climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, Politico reported.