One of the most influential Democrats in Congress and a pioneering openly gay lawmaker…
Barney Frank, the longtime Democratic congressman who became a leading architect of post-2008 Wall Street reform and one of the first openly gay members of Congress, has died at age 86 after entering hospice care at his home in Maine last month.
Frank served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013, representing southern Massachusetts and eventually rising to chairman of the influential House Financial Services Committee during the global financial crisis.
He became nationally known for co-authoring the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act alongside Sen. Chris Dodd. The legislation sought to tighten banking regulations, reduce systemic financial risks, and expand federal oversight of major financial institutions following the 2008 economic collapse.
Frank was also widely recognized as a trailblazer for LGBTQ representation in American politics. In 1987, he publicly acknowledged he was gay, becoming one of the first sitting members of Congress to do so.
As NBC News reports:
He blazed a trail for other openly gay American elected officials, and in 2012, he became the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage, tying the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready.
“It was life-changing, lifesaving for me,” Frank told NBC News in a phone interview in last month.
“I think the key to our having made the enormous progress we made in defeating anti-gay prejudice had to do with us all coming out and people discovering the gap between our reality and the way we were painted,” he added.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, who served with Frank for more than 25 years, described him as progressive and an idealist in an interview with NBC News last month.
Known for his sharp wit, combative debate style, and pragmatic liberalism, Frank remained an influential voice in Democratic policy circles long after retiring from Congress, frequently weighing in on banking regulation, economic policy, and civil rights issues.
His sister Doris Breay offered a deeply personal remembrance.
“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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Bawney Fwank was the most cowupt powitician in Amewica.