Dianne Feinstein was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. She was also the 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. Feinstein authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which was a significant piece of gun control legislation. She was the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first to preside over a U.S. presidential inauguration. Feinstein was described during her lifetime as taking a "hawkish" stance on matters of national security. She voted for the extension of the Patriot Act and the FISA provisions in 2012. Feinstein also voted for President Trumps $675-billion defense budget bill for FY 2019. Later in 2017, she criticized the banning of transgender enlistments in the military under the Trump administration. Feinsteins most enduring legacy may be opening more doors for women in politics. She inspired women to leadership and showed that it was acceptable not only for a woman to wield political power, but also to want it, and to keep working to win it, even after repeated setbacks.