Two female Senate Democrats said Sunday that fellow Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California did the right thing by temporarily relinquishing her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee during her prolonged illness but added that calls for her resignation were premature.
Democrats on the panel have been without the votes to advance President Biden’s judicial nominees since Ms. Feinstein’s absence began in February after the 89-year-old was diagnosed with shingles.
Allowing the Senate to appoint another Democrat in her place temporarily would clear the logjam.
“I think she made the right decision to step off the Judiciary Committee,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I serve on that committee, and we cannot advance judges or legislation with a missing person because of the close vote.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrat, said Ms. Feinstein “asks some of the most searing, pointed questions of anyone” on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which they both sit.
“She’s already told Sen. [Chuck] Schumer that he can replace her on the Judiciary Committee if it’s urgent for these hearings for judges. She’s a team player,” she said.
Questions about Ms. Feinstein’s cognitive health have mounted in Washington for years.
She is not seeking reelection in 2024 for the California U.S. Senate seat she’s held for more than 30 years but has made clear she has no intention of resigning before her term ends, which is more than 20 months away.
Two House Democrats — Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Dean Phillips of Minnesota — publicly called for her resignation last week, prompting accusations of sexism from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also a California Democrat.
“I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way,” the California Democrat told reporters last week. “I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”
While neither she nor Ms. Gillibrand directly charged that sexism was involved, Ms. Klobuchar suggested that only if Ms. Feinstein does not come back in the coming months would it be appropriate to discuss resignation.
“When you look at the history, people have returned to the Senate when they’re sick. She says she has shingles,” Ms. Klobuchar said. “Months down the road here, I think you get to that moment of that decision point. But right now, she says she’s going to return.”
Ms. Gillibrand compared Ms. Feinstein’s absence to that of an octogenarian male senator from the other party — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Kentucky Republican has been recovering since early March from a concussion and broken ribs he suffered during a fall. He plans to return to work this week.
“We’re human, and we believe that a senator should be able to make their own judgments about when they’re retiring and when they’re not,” Ms. Gillibrand said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They all deserve a chance to get better and come back to work. Dianne will get better. She will come back to work.”
But Senate Democrats will need cooperation from 10 Republicans to appoint Ms. Feinstein’s temporary successor on Judiciary, an agreement that will likely have to be negotiated.
Senate Republicans are expected to offer resistance when it comes to ending the blockade on Mr. Biden’s judicial nominees.
“Senate Republicans should never make it easier for Senate Democrats to rubber-stamp President Biden’s radical judicial nominees,” Mike Davis, former chief counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, told NBC News last week.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.