Dianne Feinstein — a long-serving Democratic US senator and gun control advocate who spearheaded the first federal assault weapons ban — has died at 90, US media report.

Ms Feinstein’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the news, first reported by the Punchbowl news outlet.

She was a Washington trail-blazer who among other accomplishments became the first woman to head the influential Senate Intelligence Committee.

During almost 31 years in Senate she amassed a moderate-to-liberal record, sometimes drawing scorn from the left.

Ms Feinstein joined the Senate in 1992 after winning a special election and was re-elected five times including in 2018, along the way becoming the longest-serving woman senator ever.

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Reuters