Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who had pancreatic cancer, has died

Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize June 16 as a national holiday, has died. She was 74 years old.

Lillie Conley, his chief of staff, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died in Houston on Friday night with his family around him.

The Democrat represented her district based in Houston and the fourth largest city in the country since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2nd.

“The road ahead will not be easy, but I have faith that God will strengthen me,” Jackson Lee said in a statement at the time.

Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.

“She was just a rare gem of a person who tirelessly gave everything she had to make sure others had what they needed. That was Sheila,” he said.

Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the important House Judiciary Committee in 1995.

“They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan’s work,” Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I thought it was an honor because they assumed I would be the person they needed.”

Jackson Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities, and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of Violence Against Women Law in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee was also among the key lawmakers behind the 2021 effort to have June tenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1986. The holiday marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom.

Born in Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale and received her law degree from the University of Virginia. She was a judge in Houston before being elected to the Houston City Council in 1989, and then ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

Top Democrats in Congress reacted quickly to the news Friday night, praising his commitment and work ethic.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina called her “a tenacious defender of civil rights and a tireless fighter improving the lives of her constituents.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he never met a more hard-working lawmaker than Jackson Lee, saying she “studied every bill and every amendment exactly and then told Texas and America exactly where she stood.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California cited Jackson Lee’s “relentless determination” to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday.

“As a powerful voice in Congress in defense of our Constitution and human rights, she fought tirelessly to promote fairness, equity and justice for all,” Pelosi said.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he and his wife Cecilia will always remember Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless defender of the people of Houston.”

“His legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on,” he said.

Jackson Lee routinely won re-election to Congress with ease. The few times he faced an opponent, he never received less than two-thirds of the vote. Jackson Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 in an attempt to become Houston’s first black mayor But was defeated in a second round. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for the 2024 general election.

During the mayoral campaign, Jackson Lee expressed regret and said that “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect” after the release of a unverified audio recording it was supposedly from the legislator reprimanding officials.

In 2019, Jackson Lee got down from two leadership positions on the House Judiciary Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus’ fundraiser, following a lawsuit filed by a former staffer who said her sexual assault complaint was mishandled.

In a statement, Jackson Lee’s family said she was a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother, known as Bebe.

“We will miss her greatly, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice and democracy,” the statement read. “God bless you, Congressman, and God bless the United States of America.”

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Associated Press writer Lou Kesten contributed to this story from Washington.