California Democrat Dianne Feinstein turned 90 today on a birthday that made her one of only five senators to ever serve in the Senate as a non-age.
Born in 1933, Feinstein has served in the Senate for nearly 31 years.
The former mayor of San Francisco has long been a powerhouse of Democratic politics — formerly serving as chairman of the high-profile Senate rules and intelligence committees and author of the 1994 assault weapons ban.
But her reputation is beginning to sour as the ailing senator clings to power despite everyday cognitive decline and a two-and-a-half month absenteeism that led to a backlog in the Judiciary Committee confirming judges.
With the death of Alaska Rep. Don Young became Feinstein’s oldest member of the U.S. Congress in March 2021. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is just months behind — he will turn 90 on September 17.
California Democrat Dianne Feinstein turned 90 today on a birthday that made her one of only five senators to ever serve as a non-agency in the Senate
Feinstein, D-Calif., left, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., are seen following a group photo to mark National Seersucker Day in the Ohio Clock Corridor of the Capitol on Thursday, June 8, 2023
Senator Strom Thurmond at Judiciary Committee hearing on Billy Carter’s dealings with Libya, Washington DC, July 1980. Thurmond was the oldest senator ever, retiring at age 100
Grassley is the second oldest member of the Senate
Feinstein is the fifth oldest to ever serve in the Senate. Strom Thurmond, the segregationist Democrat turned Republican, was the oldest and longest-serving senator ever: he was 100 when he retired in January 2003 after 48 years in office.
She is also one of the richest: Feinstein is worth an estimated $58 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was married to investment banker Richard Blum from 1980 until his death in 2022.
A poll conducted late last month by the University of California at Berkeley found that about two-thirds of California voters think the senator is not fit for office.
The senator caused confusion when she returned to the Senate after her extended absence and seemed to forget she was gone.
‘No, I’ve been here. I voted,” the 89-year-old told reporters on May 16 when asked how she felt and what her colleagues thought of her return. ‘Please. You either know it or you don’t,” she added.
Feinstein will retire in 2024 — three House Democrats have already lined up to try to replace her: Representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. Businessman Eric Early is on the Republican side.
Feinstein returned to the Senate last month after a bout of shingles that led to vision and balance disorders, as well as facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, in addition to encephalitis, a brain infection.
Her office confirmed the diagnosis after the senator herself curiously told reporters that she had had the flu.
Feinstein D-CA, is assisted by a staff member after voting on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Feinstein has a copy of a billboard to be placed at 20 locations across the city on January 20, 1983
Mayor Feinstein—then running for governor in 1990—speaks on the phone
Feinstein uses a weight machine at her home in 1990
‘It was a very bad flu. I’m doing better, thank you,” Feinstein initially said of her condition.
Last month it also came to light that Nancy Corinne Prowda, Chairman Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s oldest daughter, has acted as a caretaker of sorts to Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate.
When asked if the arrangement was intended to support Schiff’s campaign, Pelosi spokesman Aaron Bennett answered curtly “no.”
Sources suggested Politics that the arrangement was to ensure that Feinstein, whose state of confusion and misremembering was evident in the Senate, remained in office until the end of her term.
Feinstein on the phone in private box during NFL game between San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks; watch assistant
Diane Feinstein was sworn into the Senate in 1992
Feinstein jogging looks much livelier than in years past
Feinstein, D-Calif., is helped into a wheelchair by staff as she returns to the Senate after an absence of more than two months, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 10, 2023
The 58-year-old marketing executive has appeared with the outgoing senator following the departure of several trusted associates.
Pelosi has endorsed Schiff in the primary, and sources told Politico they thought the arrangement could be to prevent Governor Gavin Newsom from appointing Lee to fill the seat.
Newsom has promised to nominate a black woman to the senate and Lee fits in.
A Feinstein spokesperson said Prowda was not paid a salary for her role.
Nancy Corinne and Senator Feinstein have been friends for decades. Nancy Corinne has supported her recovery from her shingles,” Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett explained in a statement to DailyMail.com.
Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Senator Feinstein have been friends since long before they served in Congress – and their friendship is personal, not political. Anyone who knows Senator Feinstein knows that her senate service is entirely her own decision, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi would never suggest otherwise.”