Washington—Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas has died, weeks after taking office. He was 70 years old.
Turner also served as Houston’s mayor from 2016 until 2024.
The city of Houston confirmed his death and Mayor John Whitmire released a statement calling him a “remarkable public servant who impacted millions of people.”
“He rose from poverty, but never forgot where he came from,” Whitmire continued, calling Turner’s death “a terrible loss for the city.”
He appeared to have died suddenly; Turner attended President Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night, a source said, but at some point, he started feeling unwell. Another source said the cause of his death is unclear.
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Turner posted on X Tuesday night just before Mr. Trump’s address, “My message to the current administration for tonight’s State of the Union: ‘Don’t mess with Medicaid.”
“President Trump and Elon Musk’s push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us,” Turner wrote. “They are playing politics with children’s lives, and I will not stand for it.”
Turner won the seat in November after the July death of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the House Democratic Caucus is “shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner.”
“Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end – he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard,” Jeffries said. “In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us ‘don’t mess with Medicaid.'”
“May he forever rest in power,” Jeffries added.
Michael Kaplan and
contributed to this report.
