Rep. Sylvester Turner, a Texas Democrat, dies at 70

First-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died Tuesday night after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump’s address to Congress, according to two House Democratic lawmakers who were informed of his death. 

He was 70 years old and had just taken the oath of office in January. Turner had previously battled bone cancer.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., announced that Turner had died and that his family has been notified, according to one lawmaker who attended a closed-door Democratic meeting Wednesday.

Another Democrat who saw Turner in the underground tunnel that connects the Capitol with the Cannon Building said that it appeared Turner was having a medical emergency early Tuesday afternoon. Capitol Police were notified and went to assist him, the lawmaker said.

Several Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday they either saw Turner or spoke to him on the House floor before Trump’s joint address to Congress. Photographs and video from the speech also show Turner seated toward the back of the chamber.

Turner was elected to Congress in November and served as mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024. Before that he served more than a quarter century as a state lawmaker. 

When longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died of pancreatic cancer in July of last year, Turner, an ally of the congresswoman, announced he would run for her seat and was selected by local Democratic leaders to appear on the November ballot since Jackson Lee had already won her primary that March. 

He easily won the seat and was sworn in on Jan. 3.

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