Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX), who replaced deceased Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after she passed away, died at the age of 70 on Tuesday night.
The lawmaker reportedly experienced a medical emergency shortly after attending President Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress, according to NBC News. He had just taken the oath of office in January.
At a closed-door Democratic meeting, 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 the meeting.
Another Democrat who saw Turner in the underground tunnel that 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.
Mayor @whitmire_john just confirmed the passing of former mayor and Congressman @SylvesterTurner. pic.twitter.com/4fZSxgkAJI
— charles (@cjblain10) March 5, 2025
After Trump’s speech, Turner asked the president not to cut Medicaid while speaking with reporters while standing next to Angela Hernandez, one of his constituents who has a rare disease.
Let me be clear: any cuts to Medicaid are a direct attack on families like Angela’s. President Trump and Elon Musk’s push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us. They are playing politics with children’s lives, and I will not stand for it.
My message to the current administration for tonight’s State of the Union: “Don’t mess with Medicaid.”
— U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner (@repsturner) March 5, 2025
I am proud to have Angela Hernandez here from our Congressional district as my guest. She is representing and advocating for her daughter Baislee Garcia who has a rare genetic… pic.twitter.com/n9p49IXGHa
He was one of nine children to a maid and painter. He was educated at the University of Houston and Harvard Law School. He later became an attorney and delved into the political realm. He spent 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives before winning Houston’s mayoral election in 2015.
Turner served as the 62nd mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024 when he was elected to Congress. As mayor, he faced the April 2016 Tax Day flood, which caused great damage to the city’s infrastructure and exposed serious flaws in the city’s emergency preparedness.
He later led the city through Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which bombarded the city with over 50 inches of rain. The disaster caused billions in damage. Turner was criticized for not issuing a mass evacuation order with some contending it could have saved lives. He defended his decision by bringing up the logistical problems involved in moving millions of people out of the affected area.
Turner succeeded Lee after announcing his candidacy in August 2024. Lee had already won the Democratic primary shortly before she died on March 5, 2024. His extensive experience serving in the Texas state legislature bolstered his campaign.
The lawmaker leaves behind one adult child.