FEINSTEIN RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HER SENATE ABSENCE
Democrat seemed to not know she’d been gone from chamber
With the help of a staff member, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., rose from her wheelchair, gripped his arm and walked onto the floor and cast her second vote of the week. She voted against a plan to nullify some criminal justice reforms the District of Columbia had recently passed, and then walked off the floor.
Back in her wheelchair, she exited an elevator and was met by a reporter — who asked about her health.
“Aren’t you an eager one,” she said.
Feinstein, 89, returned last week after months away from the Senate as she recovered from the shingles virus, a serious health concern that followed years of questions about her cognitive abilities.
In a brief exchange with reporters after voting, she mentioned a problem with her leg but said she was feeling better. Then another reporter asked about the well wishes she’d received from her Senate colleagues since her return last week.
“What have I heard about what?” she asked.
“About your return,” the reporter replied.
“I haven’t been gone,” she said. “You should ... I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working.”
“You’ve been working from home is what you’re saying?”
“No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting. Please, either know or don’t know.”
She then breezed by in her wheelchair and didn’t respond to other questions.
The senator has revealed little about her health or her workload — aside from statements saying she was being briefed about Senate business while she recuperated at home in San Francisco and that, when she returned to Washington, her doctors told her to work a light schedule.
Last Thursday at the Senate Judiciary hearing, she helped push through three nominations that had lacked bipartisan support and thus had been stuck in limbo because of her absence. With her return to the Senate, Democrats have an 11-10 edge on the committee, enabling Biden’s nominations to progress to the full Senate without Republican votes.
The committee actually approved six judges on Thursday — but three sailed through because they had bipartisan support and didn’t require Feinstein’s presence.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee told the Los Angeles Times they were glad to have Feinstein back because it meant they could keep nominating and confirming judges at a rapid clip. Knowing that there are certain nominees who will not get support from Republicans, Feinstein’s physical presence will be essential.
Aware of that, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee’s chair, told the Times that “we’ve talked about her availability” with her staff.
“We need her in the committee. We need her on the floor, but we’re doing our best to be sensitive to her medical condition.”