Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), the previous Houston mayor who gained a seat in Congress in November, succeeding the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D), died Tuesday night time. He was 70.
Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) confirmed Turner’s loss of life Wednesday morning.
“The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner,” Jeffries mentioned in a press release. “Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston.”
Turner was on the Capitol on Tuesday night time for President Trump’s deal with to a joint session of Congress. The Texas Democrat posted a video on the social platform X along with his visitor for the speech that night time, delivering remarks about defending Medicaid.
“So please let people know: Don’t mess with Medicaid,” Turner mentioned within the video.
Whereas asserting Turner’s loss of life Wednesday morning, Houston Mayor John Whitmire mentioned the congressman was taken to the hospital Tuesday night time.
“It’s my duty as the mayor to confirm that Congressman Sylvester Turner, a former mayor, state representative for 24 years, passed away last night. He was working in Washington and was taken to the hospital and he passed,” Whitmire mentioned.
Turner’s loss of life doesn’t have an effect on the vote margins within the Home; on any party-line vote with full attendance, Republicans will nonetheless be capable to afford to lose only one member and nonetheless clear the measure.
Turner — who served as mayor of Houston for eight years, from 2016-24 — handedly gained his race to signify Texas’s 18th Congressional District in November, filling the seat Jackson Lee had held for practically three a long time. Jackson Lee’s kids backed Turner for the job.
Earlier than the final election, an area celebration assembly of precinct chairs selected Turner to be the nominee within the race.
Previous to serving as mayor of Houston, Turner was a member of the Texas Home of Representatives for practically three a long time, serving from 1989 till 2016.
“As the Representative for the 18th Congressional District in Texas, Sylvester followed in the hallowed footsteps of trailblazers like the great Barbara Jordan and our late sister, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee,” Jeffries mentioned in his assertion. “We all stand on the shoulders of these incredible giants and join Texans in mourning the tremendous loss of another iconic leader.”
“Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end – he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard,” he added. “In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us ‘don’t mess with Medicaid.’”
