Barney Frank, liberal icon who regulated a ‘too big’ financial industry, dies at 86

Barney Frank, the [barrier-breaking](https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/politics/barney-frank) former Congressman who helped draft reforms that sought to rein in an unruly financial industry in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, has died. He was 86.

His sister Doris Breay confirmed his death to CNN, saying, “he was a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister. I will miss him.”

Frank entered hospice care earlier this year where he underwent treatment for congestive heart failure, according to media reports.

The former congressman built a reputation on Capitol Hill for being an outspoken progressive stalwart. He was also the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay. Frank’s decision to publicly disclose his sexuality in 1987 made him the most prominent gay man in Washington during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

‘Liberal’ is an interesting description.