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Barney Frank, former congressman and gay-rights pioneer, dies at 86

US Rep. Barney Frank,D-MA, chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee conducts hearings on "Financial Market Regulatory Restructuring." July 10, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
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AFP via Getty Images
US Rep. Barney Frank,D-MA, chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee conducts hearings on "Financial Market Regulatory Restructuring." July 10, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Barney Frank, the liberal icon and gay-rights pioneer who represented Massachusetts in Congress for more than three decades, died Tuesday night at his home, according to a close friend who confirmed his death to member station GBH.

He was 86 years old and had been receiving hospice care for congestive heart failure.

Recently asked by GBH if he wished he could do over any part of his career, Frank replied: "I would have come out earlier."

Read GBH's full remembrance here.

Frank's last message for Democrats

Barney Frank speaks during PFLAG National's Love Takes Justice event at AFT Headquarters on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Getty Images
Barney Frank speaks during PFLAG National's Love Takes Justice event at AFT Headquarters on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.

WBUR's Anthony Brooks spoke with Frank while in hospice at his home in Ogunquit, Maine, where he lives with his husband, Jim Ready.

In their conversation, Frank shared an urgent message for Democrats hoping to bounce back from Trump.

He says Democrats have a chance to defeat President Donald Trump's brand of right-wing populism, but only if the party embraces core economic issues instead of polarizing culture fights.

Read more from their conversation here.


This is a developing story.

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