Democratic US Representative Sylvester Turner of Texas passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 70, The Associated Press reports.
The politician died at his home in Houston from enduring health complications, just two months after taking office and hours after attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress in Washington, D.C.
Turner’s family confirmed his death in a statement, stating that he died at 5:45 a.m. after being treated and released from a hospital while attending Trump’s speech the previous evening. The family did not provide further details about the specific health complications.
Turner had previously disclosed in November 2022 that he had undergone surgery and radiation therapy earlier that year for bone cancer in his jaw.
Elected in November, Turner filled the Houston congressional seat previously held by Sheila Jackson Lee, who passed away last July following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Prior to his election to Congress, Turner served two terms as Mayor of Houston, leading the nation’s fourth-largest city through a period of significant challenges, including the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Before becoming mayor, Turner dedicated 27 years to serving in the Texas House of Representatives.
Texas House Democrats released a statement remembering Turner as “a champion for working families, infrastructure investment, and economic opportunity for all Texans.”
Born and raised in Houston’s historic Black neighborhood of Acres Homes, Turner obtained degrees from the University of Houston and Harvard Law School. He then worked as a trial lawyer and established his own law firm. He was first elected to the Texas House in 1988, serving for nearly three decades before being elected Mayor of Houston in 2015.
