Dianne Feinstein, who rose to national prominence representing California in the U.S. Senate for more than 30 years, will be laid to rest on Thursday after a public memorial service in San Francisco.
President Biden will deliver remarks via video, while some of the nation’s other leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris, will speak in person on the steps of City Hall, along with Ms. Feinstein’s granddaughter.
A trailblazing Democratic power broker, Ms. Feinstein died on Sept. 29 at age 90. After years of declining health, during which she resisted calls to leave Washington, she announced that she intended to retire at the end of her term in January 2025. An intense race was already underway to succeed her.
Ms. Feinstein’s body was flown from Washington to San Francisco over the weekend so that she could lie in state not in the Capitol Rotunda, as many other prominent politicians have done, but in her beloved hometown, where she served as the city’s first female mayor through a period of great tumult.
Here’s what to know about the funeral:
What time is the memorial?
The memorial is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time in San Francisco. Her burial afterward will be private.
Can I watch it?
The City Hall service will be closed to the public but livestreamed on the city government’s YouTube channel. You can watch it here.
Who will be speaking?
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President Biden, who will deliver his remarks by recorded video.
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Vice President Harris, who served alongside Ms. Feinstein as the junior senator from California.
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London Breed, the only woman besides Ms. Feinstein to serve as San Francisco’s mayor.
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Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the Senate majority leader.
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Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and the former House speaker, who had defended Ms. Feinstein amid calls that she needed to step down.
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Eileen Mariano, Ms. Feinstein’s granddaughter.
What happens to the open Senate seat?
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California appointed Laphonza Butler, the president of Emily’s List and a former labor leader, to fill the vacancy and serve out Ms. Feinstein’s term. She was sworn in this week in Washington.
Though he had previously said that it would be an “interim” appointment, the governor assured Ms. Butler that it was up to her whether to run in next year’s election. If she does, she would face three other high-profile California members of the House already vying for the seat: Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
