Given her age and health problems, Feinstein is likely to face continued questions about her ability to serve. The White House has expressed support for the long-serving senator and wished her a speedy recovery. Feinstein could provide crucial support for whatever debt limit bill comes before the Senate that would avert a first-ever default on US debt.īut leading national Democrats remained largely silent about her absence. 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 rights are getting stripped.”ĭemocrats’ worries were further heightened as lawmakers have been spending 2023 arguing over raising the nation’s borrowing authority. A handful of other progressives have also called for her resignation. The politically moderate Feinstein has long had strained relations with the Democratic party’s left wing. It’s unacceptable to have Senator Feinstein miss vote after vote to confirm judges who will uphold reproductive rights.” 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. Republicans in the closely divided chamber rejected the request, saying Democrats only wanted a stand-in to push through Biden’s most partisan judicial nominations. At the time, she said her recovery had been delayed because of complications and provided no date for her return. Last month, facing pressure over her extended absence, Feinstein made the unusual request to be temporarily replaced on the judiciary committee. 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. It was not immediately clear when she would appear in the Senate for evening votes.įeinstein, who took office in 1992, announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election in 2024. 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”.įeinstein’s office said she was traveling and expected to be in Washington on Tuesday evening. Some in the House urged her to step down.Įarlier this month, Feinstein said in a statement that “there has been no slowdown”. She last voted in the Senate in February and her absence has spurred calls for her to resign.įew 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. But an expected return later that month never happened. 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.
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