Dianne Feinstein to resume Senate duties after long absence due to illness
Senator Dianne Feinstein, 89, will return to Washington on Tuesday after a months-long absence due to illness, her spokesperson said, restoring Democrats’ 51-49 majority to full strength.
The 89-year-old California Democrat announced in early March that she had been hospitalized in San Francisco and was being treated for a case of shingles. But an expected return later that month never happened. She last voted in the Senate in February and her absence has spurred calls for her to resign.
Few details emerged on Feinstein’s condition and some Democrats openly complained that her lengthy absence was compromising the Democratic agenda in the Senate, including slowing the push to confirm Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. Some in the House urged her to step down.
Earlier this month, Feinstein said in a statement that “there has been no slowdown”.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer confirmed Feinstein’s return in a statement and said he was pleased “my friend Dianne is back in the Senate and ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work”.
Feinstein’s office said she was traveling and expected to be in Washington on Tuesday evening. It was not immediately clear when she would appear in the Senate for evening votes.
Feinstein, who took office in 1992, announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election in 2024. The senator has faced questions in recent years about her cognitive health and memory and has appeared increasingly frail, though she has defended her effectiveness.
Last month, facing pressure over her extended absence, Feinstein made the unusual request to be temporarily replaced on the judiciary committee. At the time, she said her recovery had been delayed because of complications and provided no date for her return. Republicans in the closely divided chamber rejected the request, saying Democrats only wanted a standin to push through Biden’s most partisan judicial nominations.
The California representative Ro Khanna, a progressive, was the first to call for Feinstein to resign, saying in mid-April: “This is a moment of crisis for women’s rights and voting rights. It’s unacceptable to have Senator Feinstein miss vote after vote to confirm judges who will uphold reproductive rights.”
The politically moderate Feinstein has long had strained relations with the Democratic party’s left wing. A handful of other progressives have also called for her resignation. The New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added her powerful voice to the pressure, saying, “Her refusal to either retire or show up is causing great harm to the judiciary – precisely where repro[ductive] rights are getting stripped.”
Democrats’ worries were further heightened as lawmakers have been spending 2023 arguing over raising the nation’s borrowing authority. Feinstein could provide crucial support for whatever debt limit bill comes before the Senate that would avert a first-ever default on US debt.
But leading national Democrats remained largely silent about her absence. The White House has expressed support for the long-serving senator and wished her a speedy recovery.
Given her age and health problems, Feinstein is likely to face continued questions about her ability to serve.
If Feinstein decides to step down during her term, it would be up to Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor, to fill the vacancy, potentially reordering the highly competitive race to succeed her. Newsom said in 2021 that he would nominate a Black woman to fill the seat if Feinstein were to step aside.
The leading candidates include Democratic US representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
Lee is Black, and becoming the incumbent could be a decisive advantage in the contest, but it’s not known if Newsom would consider Lee, given that she is already running for the seat. Porter and Schiff are white.
Feinstein has had a groundbreaking political career and shattered gender barriers from San Francisco’s City Hall to the corridors of Capitol Hill. She served as San Francisco’s first female mayor and was first elected to the Senate in 1992. During that year, nick