Black, Diane, 1951-

Diane Lynn Black (née Warren; January 16, 1951) is an American nurse, educator, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district from 2011 to 2019.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she graduated from Andover High School in Linthicum, Maryland in 1969 before earning an associate's degree in nursing from Anne Arundel Community College. Black and her first husband divorced in 1977. In 1980 she married Dave Black. Diane Black worked as a nurse and a nonprofit fundraiser before seeking elective office. From 1999 to 2005, she served in the Tennessee state house of representatives before moving to the state senate where she served until 2010. In the Tennessee legislature, she worked to balance the state budget and advocated for long-term health care for senior citizens. Black kept her nursing license current throughout her political career, helping her stay up to date on health care issues.

In December 2009, when 13-term Democrat Bart Gordon announced his retirement from the U.S. House, Black declared her candidacy for the seat. During the campaign, Black touted her experiences as a nurse and legislator, telling voters she was ready to reform the health care system and federal spending. After narrowly winning the Republican primary, she easily won the election. From her seat on the Ways and Means Committee, Black supported comprehensive tax reform, including lower rates and fewer income brackets. Similar to her work on Ways and Means, Black worked to overhaul federal spending levels on the Budget Committee. After President Donald J. Trump chose House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in 2017, Republican House leadership named Black the new chair of the Budget Committee. She was the first woman to lead the Budget Committee in House history, and one of three GOP women who led full committees in the 115th Congress.

In August 2017, Black announced she would seek the Tennessee governorship the next year. Despite wide name recognition and endorsements from Vice President Mike Pence and the National Rifle Association, Black lost the Republican primary to businessman Bill Lee, taking 23 percent of the vote to Lee’s 37 percent.