Sen. Dianne Feinstein‘s husband Richard Blum died on Sunday after a protracted fight with cancer, the California senator announced on Monday.
“My heart is broken today,” Feinstein said in a statement. “My husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years. He was by my side for the good times and for the challenges. I am going to miss him terribly.”
Feinstein and Blum have long been one of the most prominent couples in California politics. As Feinstein became the longest-tenured woman in the Senate, Blum spent years serving on the University of California’s Board of Regents, which oversees the prestigious public higher education system. Blum reportedly inquired with the Biden administration about a possible ambassadorial post after Feinstein and Blum steadfastly backed Biden’s candidacy.
Blum chaired the investment firm Blum Capital Partners and devoted some of his spare time to advocating for the Himalayan region and its people.
Statements of consolation poured in on Monday from elected officials in California and beyond.
“Above all, Dick was devoted to his family,” Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement. “Over his four decades of marriage to Senator Feinstein, he took tremendous joy in supporting her pioneering leadership as a public servant.”
Blum at times faced questions about the overlap between his work and Feinstein’s, including his financial ties to China and his company’s investments in defense firms, although he was never found to have violated any laws. A state audit in 2020 accused Blum of using his influence to help get a prospective student admitted to college. Blum said at the time that he regularly wrote recommendations for friends and family.