Former US representative Barney Frank dies aged 86

Obama hails Frank as a ‘one of a kind’ LGBTQ+ advocate and key architect of ‘sweeping financial reforms’

Barney Frank, the former US representative who made history as one of the first out gay members of Congress , died on Tuesday night. He was 86.

“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister,” Doris Breay, Frank’s sister, told NBC10 in Boston on Wednesday morning.

Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts who represented the state in the US House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013, entered hospice care at his home in Maine last month, Politico reported. He had been dealing with congestive heart failure.

In an interview at the time, he told the outlet that “at 86, I’ve made it longer than I thought”, adding: “At some point, my heart’s just going to give out, and it’s reaching that stage. So I’m taking it easy at home and dealing with it by relaxing.”

Frank, who was born in New Jersey in 1940, was a key figure behind the biggest shake-up of US financial regulations since the Great Depression, as chair of the House financial services committee from 2007 to 2011.

The sweeping Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which Frank co-sponsored, bolstered oversight of the financial sector in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. Signed into law by Barack Obama in 2010, the law cracked down on lending practices and expanded consumer protections.

Jim Segel, Frank’s former campaign manager and close friend, also confirmed his death on Wednesday to the Associated Press , which reported that Frank is survived by his husband, Jim Ready, and his two sisters and brother.

The former House speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed Frank’s persistence and patriotism, and noted how his name was “synonymous with the strongest consumer financial protections in history”.

“As the first member to come out as gay publicly, Chairman Frank was a pioneering and powerful voice for the LGBTQ community,” Pelosi said in a statement. “All were moved by how he spoke about the discrimination he faced.”

Former president Barack Obama described Frank as “one of a kind”, adding: “For more than three decades in Congress, he fought tirelessly for the people of Massachusetts, helped make housing more affordable, stood up for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, and helped pass one of the most sweeping financial reforms in history designed to protect consumers and prevent another financial crisis.

“Barney’s passion and wit were second to none, and our thoughts are with his family today.”

The Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey, described Frank as “one of a kind” and “a giant in public life who helped change Massachusetts and America for the better”. “In Congress, Barney fought tirelessly for working people, civil rights and LGBTQ+ equality,” she said. “He was brilliant, fearless, quick-witted and never afraid to say exactly what was on his mind.”

Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary under Joe Biden, said in a statement: “Seeing coverage of Congress as a young man in Indiana, I remember watching Barney Frank run circles around bad-faith arguments with his formidable intellect and unique political style.

“Years later, I’m not sure I would have had the chance to serve if Barney Frank hadn’t demonstrated that courage, commitment and skill can matter more than others’ imagination about what voters are ‘ready’ for,” said Buttigieg. “He will be missed, and remembered, for generations.”