Nita Lowey, who represented New York in the US House of Representatives for 32 years and was the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee, has passed away at the age of 87.
According to a report from the New York Post, she died on Saturday after a long battle with metastatic breast cancer.
The longtime lawmaker’s family announced her death in a statement, saying:
“We will miss her more than words can say and take great comfort in knowing that she lived a full and purposeful life.”
The former New York lawmaker was born Nita Sue Menikoff in the Bronx in 1937.
She graduated from Bronx High School of Science before earning a degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1959.
She married attorney Stephen Lowey in 1961 and was first elected to Congress in 1988, representing New York’s 17th Congressional District.
A longtime ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Clinton family, Lowey became chair of the House Appropriations Committee in 2019.
During her tenure as chair, she frequently clashed with President Donald Trump. In 2019, she told Lohud that the president was an “embarrassment.”
Lowey is survived by her husband, three children, and eight grandchildren.
In other news, The wreckage of a small plane that vanished in Alaska on Thursday has been located, the U.S. Coast Guard announced, confirming three deaths. Officials suspect that seven additional victims remain inside the aircraft, though difficult terrain and the plane’s condition have complicated immediate retrieval efforts.
A routine Bering Air flight turned tragic when the Cessna Caravan carrying ten individuals lost contact 12 miles (19 km) offshore on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard eventually located the downed aircraft 34 miles southeast of Nome, where it was scheduled to land after departing Unalakleet.
“Say a prayer tonight for the 10 souls who lost their lives on the Bering Air flight in Alaska,” US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said.
Duffy confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is conducting a full investigation into the crash. The Alaska State Troopers added that they received a report of an “overdue” aircraft at 4:00 p.m. local time on Thursday (01:00 GMT).
