Senator Dianne Feinstein made her first appearance in the Senate in nearly three months due to health issues – but the 89-year-old patient insisted she had been there the whole time.
‘No, I’ve been here. I voted,’ Feinstein told reporters on Tuesday when asked how she felt and what her colleagues thought of her comeback. ‘Please. You know or you don’t know.
The California senator has been on extended leave following a case of shingles. She returned last week in a wheelchair and said in a statement that she had been ordered by the doctor to work a lighter schedule.
Feinstein has shown up to vote twice and has attended committee hearings since returning last week, but last Wednesday marked her first time at the U.S. Capitol since leaving in February.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, 89, was on extended leave after a case of shingles but returned last week in a wheelchair and said she was on doctor’s orders to work a lighter schedule
Feinstein received a standing ovation when she returned last week, said in a statement that she had been ordered by the doctor to work a lighter schedule.
Feinstein has faced calls to resign — even from fellow Democrats — amid his health issues and fears his absence could delay President Joe Biden’s justice confirmations. She sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds confirmation hearings.
But she refused to withdraw. Last month, Feinstein asked to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee.
Now there is more concern for Feinstein, whose physical and mental abilities have deteriorated in recent years after she seemed to forget she had been away for the past two and a half months.
Asked by a Slate journalist how she was feeling, the senator replied, “Oh, I feel great. I have a problem with the leg.
Feinstein was then asked by another reporter about her colleagues’ response since her return and gave an odd response.
“No, I didn’t leave,” she said. “You should follow the…I didn’t leave. I worked.’
The reporter asked if she meant she was working from home.
‘No, I’ve been here. I voted, she retorted. ‘Please. You know or you don’t know.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer welcomed back Senator Dianne Feinstein
“Hi everyone,” Feinstein said as she entered the building on Wednesday.
When Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal was asked if there was any optimism that Feinstein could once again become a fully functioning and contributing member of the committee like herself.
“There’s one job no one else can do for us is to vote,” Blumenthal said. “And she’s been doing this job for the past few days, and as far as I know, she’s fine.”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, however, said: “I’ll leave that to the doctors.”
Feinstein arrived in the Senate on Wednesday after flying from California – where she was recovering at her San Francisco home – to Washington DC
“Even though I have made significant progress and been able to return to Washington, I am still experiencing side effects from the shingles virus. My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule when I return to the Senate,” she said in a statement.
Then she made his return to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, arriving nearly 90 minutes late and after some judicial nominees had already been elected.
She received a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats on the panel when she joined them after leaving due to health issues.
President Dick Durbin welcomed Senator Feinstein
Senator Dianne Feinstein uses a wheelchair to get around the Capitol
Feinstein takes his place during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill
Side effects include persistent pain known as postherpetic neuralgia, painful eye infections that can lead to loss of vision, facial paralysis, or problems with hearing or balance, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Feinstein arrived in time to vote for the advancement of three of President Joe Biden’s nominees. She has been criticized by members of her own party for her prolonged absence from the Senate, which has delayed confirmation from some justices.
Meanwhile, Feinstein has said she will not run again in 2024.
The race to replace her is already competitive with several Democrats vying for a Senate seat that has not been vacant for 30 years, including Representatives Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter.
There are fears that if Feinstein resigns, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom – who must nominate someone to fulfill his term – could upend the race to replace her by nominating someone already in the running for the seat.
He said he would appoint a black woman to that position. Representative Lee is black.
And Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who led the latest round of calls for Feinstein’s resignation, endorsed Lee in the primary to replace Feinstein.
California has a jungle primary, which means the top two winners, regardless of party, qualify for the general election. That means the heavily Democratic state could see two Democrats run in the November 2024 election.
