A United States House of Representatives member, Sylvester Turner, a Democrat from Texas, died Tuesday night.
FOX News reports that Turner died at the age of 70, as confirmed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Turner, who previously served as the mayor of Houston, Texas, was elected to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July of last year.
He served 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives and was elected mayor of Houston in 2015 and again in 2019.
Reports indicate that Turner was on Capitol Hill as recently as Tuesday afternoon, ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.
The lawmaker was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in 2022.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., honoured Turner in a statement on Wednesday.
“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. 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. In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night, he reminded us, ‘Don’t mess with Medicaid,’” Jeffries wrote.
US Rep Turner dies at 70
