Sheila Jackson Lee, longtime Texas congresswoman, dies at 74

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas has died, her office announced Friday night. She was 74.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. However, last month, Jackson Lee revealed who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“She was a fierce advocate for the people and was affectionately known by her constituents simply as ‘Congresswoman’ in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service to their daily lives for more than 30 years,” her office said in a statement.

Jackson Lee represented the 18th Congressional District, which included parts of Houston.

Born in Queens, New York, she graduated from Yale University in 1972 and received her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. She was a municipal judge before beginning her political career as a member of the Houston City Council in the late 1980s, then making the jump to Congress in 1995. She lost a closely watched Houston mayoral race last December.

In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus praised Jackson Lee as a “titan and a stalwart” who was a “fierce advocate for social and economic justice, national and homeland security, energy independence, and working children and families.”

Jackson Lee was the main sponsor of the legislation that was signed into law by President Biden in June 2021 to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

“The potential of having this national holiday opens up a whole world of discussion for America, a whole reckoning with racism and systemic racism that permeates the nation,” he said. he told CBS Mornings in a June 2020 interview.

“Known for proudly wearing her braided crown, Congresswoman Jackson Lee fought every day for the least, the lost, and the abandoned, and was a warrior for racial and economic justice,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Friday night, noting that Jackson Lee was also the first woman to serve as chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s crime subcommittee.

Confirming her pancreatic cancer diagnosis last month, Jackson Lee said she was “undergoing treatment to combat this disease that affects tens of thousands of Americans each year.”

In 2012, Jackson Lee revealed that she had undergone treatment for breast cancer and had made a full recovery. She then worked in Congress to secure millions of dollars in funding for breast cancer research.

“This is a tremendous loss,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a social media post Friday about her passing. “Representative Sheila Jackson Lee fought very hard throughout her life to make our country a better place for all. May her memory be a blessing.”

She is survived by her husband and two children.

— Jordan Freiman contributed to this report.