Disputable Senator Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco has announced she intends to temporarily hand over her duties to another Democrat after two of her party members asked her to resign.
Feinstein, 89, made the statement in a statement Wednesday, about two hours after Representative Ro Khanna, also of California, and Representative Dean Phillips demanded on social media that she step down due to an ongoing two-month medical absence.
Successive calls for the elder stateswoman’s resignation — both coming from fellow Democrats — underscored growing concerns over her extended furlough, which has hampered her party’s ability to empower federal judges.
Suspected of shingles, Feinstein said Wednesday she has asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “to let another Democratic senator serve temporarily” on the judicial panel “until I can resume my committee work.”
However, the senator did not give a timeline for the unapproved settlement, saying only that she will return to the Capitol when her medical team says it is safe for her to travel.
San Francisco Senator Dianne Feinstein has announced she intends to temporarily hand over her duties to another Democrat after two of her party members asked her to resign
Supposedly stricken with shingles, Feinstein is issuing this official statement on Wednesday in which she reveals she has asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve” on the judicial panel “until I can resume my committee work.”
“When I was first diagnosed with shingles, I expected to be back by the end of the work period in March,” Feinstein wrote in the official statement.
“Unfortunately, my return to Washington has been delayed due to ongoing complications related to my diagnosis.”
She added: ‘I intend to return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it is safe for me to travel. In the meantime, I will remain committed to the work and will continue to work from home in San Francisco.”
The former San Francisco mayor briefly addressed the main controversy surrounding her sabbatical — how it has delayed confirmation of President Biden’s judicial nominations because of her seat on the Judiciary Committee.
Democrats have only 49 voting members in the Senate — and with the absence of another senator, recently elected Pennsylvania Representative John Fetterman, Feinstein’s vote is particularly crucial.
Fetterman, who was hospitalized for clinical depression, is expected to return to the Senate next week — nearly two months after retiring himself.
“I understand that my absence could delay the important work of the Judiciary Commission,” she wrote in the final paragraph of the statement.
“So I’ve asked Leader Schumer to ask the Senate to let another Democratic senator serve temporarily until I can resume my committee work.”
The official correspondence then ends abruptly, without any form of approval or sense of gratitude for her colleagues for enduring her extended absence.
Feinstein, 89, made the statement about two hours after Representative Ro Khanna, also of California, and Representative Dean Phillips demanded on social media that she step down due to an ongoing two-month medical absence
Feinstein (D-Calif.) was hospitalized in February for shingles and released last month, but has not returned to the Senate, missing 60 of the last 82 votes.
Feinstein also faces criticism from some Democrats, who fear she is “mentally unfit to serve” and that her memory is “deteriorating rapidly.”
Feinstein confirmed in February that she will not be seeking re-election in 2024, but there is widespread speculation that she will step down early before her term expires.
Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has already announced that he will run to replace Feinstein’s Senate seat. He has raised more than $6.5 million since entering the race in January.
Democratic Representatives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee also announced they are running for the seat.
A GOP challenger, GOP attorney Eric Early, threw his hat into the race on Tuesday and officially launched his bid in a new campaign video.
Early, who unsuccessfully stood up against Schiff in 2020, said in the video that he will campaign to fight the fentanyl and border crisis and stand up for parents’ rights.
“Eric will stand up to the socialist awakened interests that control Washington, DC, fight to preserve and protect our democracy, and fight for ordinary Californians who are being left behind,” his campaign website states.
He claims that the other Democrats running for Feinstein’s seat are pursuing messy politics that are harmful to Californians.
Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992. She is pictured as the mayor of San Francisco in 1978
Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee have served in Congress together for 51 years. Judge them by the results of their actions and their votes – they got us into this mess,” he says.
He is the first major Republican to announce his intention to run for the seat, but faces strong headwinds in the stark blue state.
Feinstein, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, is the longest-serving female legislator in Senate history.
The senator has largely avoided public events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and after her husband passed away in February 2022.