In a CNN interview, host Jake Tapper pressed Senate Judiciary Chair Richard J. Schumer of New York that said he is “hopeful” Feinstein will return to her post this week. Last Monday, Politico captured a photo showing a prepared statement from Senate Majority Leader Charles E. The White House in April urged patience with Feinstein’s return to work. Her party leadership has tiptoed around the issue. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) - called on her to step down.įeinstein has refused, putting Democratic leadership in a bind. Senate Republicans blocked her request to have someone temporarily carry out her committee duties, requiring her to be present for floor votes. The party’s majority in the upper chamber is so thin, legislation - including one that would raise the debt ceiling - could fail. But after the senator was diagnosed with shingles in February, she stepped back from Washington to recover, imperiling Democrats’ priorities.īiden’s judicial nominees are stuck in committee without her vote. She relented and said she would not run for reelection.
This and other moments led Democratic leaders to press her to make this term her last.
During a hearing for then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Feinstein thanked the Republican chairman for how he handled the very contested process, which some Democrats felt undercut their opposition to even considering former President Trump’s nominee weeks before an election. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.Īfter a slate of private and public mental faux pas in recent years, critics have questioned whether Feinstein is capable of serving. Still, her prolonged absence drew the ire of many, and the calls for resignation are unlikely to subside. On Tuesday, she said she would come back to Washington. The senator refused, leaving some to accuse her of clinging to power at the expense of voters. Gavin Newsom can appoint someone to carry out her duties. Advocates and fellow Democrats called on the Californian to end her term early so Gov. Without her, Democrats did not have the votes to advance his bench picks to the Senate floor. The GOP exploited Feinstein’s break from the Senate Judiciary Committee to stonewall President Biden’s judicial nominations. At 89, Feinstein is the Senate’s longest-serving woman and her tenure has earned her deep admiration and respect from both sides of the aisle.īut her prolonged health-related absence from Washington threatened her party’s agenda. The California senator was the architect of the 1994 assault weapons ban, elevated the beloved Joshua Tree monument to national park status and oversaw the review of a 2014 congressional report about the CIA’s interrogation program under the George W. Dianne Feinstein’s career is littered with success.
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