(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Liberal Democrat and former U.S. Representative Nita Lowey, who spent decades pushing progressive policies while controlling America’s purse strings, has died at 87.
Her passing marks the end of a 32-year congressional career that saw her battle Republicans on spending priorities and clash openly with President Trump over border wall funding.
Lowey, who became the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee in 2018, passed away at her home in Harrison, New York, over the weekend.
According to her family, she had been battling metastatic breast cancer in recent years and was surrounded by loved ones in her final moments.
The New York Democrat, first elected to Congress in 1988, represented portions of Westchester and Rockland counties until her retirement in 2020.
Throughout her 16 terms in office, Lowey established herself as a reliable vote for liberal causes while developing close relationships with Democrat power players, including Nancy Pelosi and the Clintons.
During a 2019 government shutdown standoff, Lowey did not hesitate to attack then-President Trump, saying:
“The president is an embarrassment, and as members of Congress and as leaders of the appropriations committee, we have the responsibility to serve the people.”
While praised by Democrat colleagues as a trailblazer, Lowey’s legislative record reveals a consistent pattern of supporting bigger government and increased federal spending.
She aggressively fought GOP efforts to rein in social spending and was a vocal defender of taxpayer funding for liberal priorities like the National Endowment for the Arts and Public Broadcasting.
In one particularly memorable moment from 1995, Lowey brought Bert and Ernie puppets onto the House floor to advocate for continued PBS funding.
She later battled the Trump administration over border security, vigorously opposing the construction of a southern border wall while controlling federal purse strings as Appropriations Chair.
Before Congress, the late representative worked for the New York State government and as an assistant to then-Secretary of State Mario Cuomo.
Born in the Bronx in 1937, she graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Mount Holyoke College before marrying attorney Stephen Lowey. The couple was married for 64 years and had three children.
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Lowey’s honor, another reminder of how the Democrat establishment continues to lionize its long-serving members regardless of their policy positions.
While Lowey’s parliamentary skills earned her the nickname “perfumed ice pick” among colleagues, her consistently liberal voting record and close relationships with Democrat power brokers defined a career that prioritized expanding the government’s role rather than protecting taxpayers.
She leaves behind a legacy as a barrier-breaking woman in politics who advanced Democrat priorities through her strategic control of the federal budget process.
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