U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former two-term mayor of Houston, died early Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the Houston Chronicle reported. He was 70.

The Democrat’s death, two months into his first term in Congress, was announced Wednesday morning by current Houston Mayor John Whitmire during a council meeting, according to the newspaper. Whitmire had previously said Turner died on Tuesday night, but the representative’s press secretary, Gregory Carter, told The New York Times that he passed away on Wednesday.

No cause of death was given.

“A remarkable public servant who impacted millions of people,” Whitmire said. “He rose from poverty but never forgot where he came from. It is a terrible loss for the city and a personal loss for me. I ask Houstonians to celebrate his life.”

Turner attended President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, KHOU reported.

Turner served two terms as Houston’s 62nd mayor after being elected in 2016, according to KTRK. He left the mayor’s office in January 2024, and in November he won an election to fill the seat once held by longtime Rep. Jackson Lee, who died of pancreatic cancer in July 2024, the television station reported.

Before serving as mayor, Turner was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1989 to 2016, the Chronicle reported. He had ran for the mayoral job in Houston in 1991 and 2003.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he was saddened to hear of Turner’s death.

“His decades of public service -- from the halls of the Legislature to Houston City Hall and, most recently, our nation’s Capitol -- leave behind a legacy of leadership and advocacy for the people of Houston,” Burrows, R-Lubbock, said in a statement. “Our condolences and prayers go out to his family, friends, and the entire Houston community during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.”

With Turner’s seat vacant, Republicans now hold a 218-214 in the House, the Texas Tribune reported.

Turner said in 2022 that he had secretly been recovering from bone cancer, according to the news outlet. While running for Congress, he said he was cancer-free.

Turner’s first bill, introduced in February, was to provide on-the-job cybersecurity training in federal offices, the Times reported.

Turner was born on Sept. 27, 1954, according to the Chronicle. He grew up in the Acres Homes neighborhood of Houston as the sixth oldest of nine children. Turner graduated as valedictorian from Klein High School before attending the University of Houston and Harvard Law School.

Nationally, Turner served as chair of the African American Mayors Association and was a trustee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, KHOU reported.

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