WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner, a former mayor of Houston, who was sworn into office in November, died on Tuesday, fellow lawmakers said, hours after he posted about attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.
The death of Turner, 70, temporarily widens Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to 218-214. A special election for Turner’s replacement will have to be held to fill the vacancy.
Turner served as mayor of Houston from 2016 through 2024 and was elected last year to take the House seat formerly held by Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024 at age 74. A spokesperson said Turner’s office would issue a statement shortly.
In a video message filmed outside his Washington office and posted on Tuesday, Turner said he was bringing to Trump’s address a constituent whose daughter had a rare genetic disorder and relied on Medicaid insurance for treatment.
“My message to the current administration for tonight’s State of the Union: ‘Don’t mess with Medicaid,'” Turner wrote in the post. “President Trump and Elon Musk’s push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us.”
Republicans are trying to pass a spending bill that could significantly slash spending on popular social programs, including the Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income people, to pay for Trump’s desired tax cut plan.
Tributes to Turner poured in from Democratic politicians on social media. Representative Greg Casar of Texas told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that Turner was “a dedicated public servant,” and Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama posted on X that Turner “leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service.”
The House has two other vacant seats, previously held by Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, both of Florida. April 1 special elections have been scheduled to fill both, and Republicans are expected to win those contests, restoring Trump’s party’s full majority to 220.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Bo Erickson and Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Nick Zieminski)
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