Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died. She was 74.
Lillie Conley, her chief of staff, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died in Houston Friday night with her family around her.
The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.
“The road ahead will not be easy, but I stand in faith that God will strengthen me,” Jackson Lee said in a statement then.
Jackson Lee was “a towering figure in our politics,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday. “Always fearless, she spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity and grace.”
Biden said Jackson Lee’s spirit was unbreakable.
“I had the honor of working with her …