HOUSTON — U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and establish Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died. She was 74.

Lillie Conley, her chief of staff, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died Friday night in Houston surrounded by her family.

The Democrat has represented her district in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced on June 2 that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“The road forward will not be easy, but I have faith that God will strengthen me,” Jackson Lee said in a statement at the time.

Bishop James Dixon, a close friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.

“She was just a rare, rare gem of a person who tirelessly gave everything she had to make sure others had what they needed. That was Sheila,” he said.

Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction. In 1995, she was immediately appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, a high-profile committee.

“They just saw me, I guess, through my profile, through Barbara Jordan’s work,” Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I thought it was an honor, because they assumed I would be the person they needed.”

Jackson Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities, and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from police reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender, and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee was also one of the leading lawmakers behind the 2021 effort to have Juneteenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established in 1986. The holiday marks the day in 1865 that the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom.

Jackson Lee is a native of Queens, New York, graduated from Yale and received her law degree from the University of Virginia. She served as a judge in Houston before being elected to the Houston City Council in 1989. She ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

Leading Democrats in Congress were quick to react to the news Friday night, praising her dedication and work ethic.

South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn called her “a tenacious champion of civil rights and a tireless fighter who improves the lives of her constituents.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he’s never known a harder-working lawmaker than Jackson Lee. She said she “scrutinized every bill and amendment and then told Texas and America exactly what she stood for.”

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California cited Jackson Lee’s “tireless determination” to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday.

“As a powerful voice in Congress for our Constitution and human rights, she has fought tirelessly for fairness, equality and justice for all,” Pelosi said.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he and his wife Cecilia Jackson will always remember Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the people of Houston.”

“Her legacy of community service and dedication to Texas will live on,” he said.

Jackson Lee routinely won re-election to Congress with ease. The few times she faced a challenger, she never received less than two-thirds of the vote. Jackson Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 in a bid to become Houston’s first black female mayor, but was defeated in a runoff. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for the 2024 general election.

During the mayoral campaign, Jackson Lee expressed regret and said that “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect,” after an unverified audio recording was released in which the lawmaker allegedly reprimanded his staff.

In 2019, Jackson Lee resigned as leader of the House Judiciary Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, following a lawsuit from a former employee who alleged her sexual assault complaint was mishandled.

In a statement, Jackson Lee’s family said she was a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother, known as Bebe.

“She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice, and democracy,” the statement said. “God bless you, Congresswoman, and God bless the United States of America.”

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Associated Press editor Lou Kesten contributed to this story from Washington.