Amid calls by some Democrats for Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif, to resign amid a prolonged absence from the Senate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she is “taking her at her word that she’s going to return,” but that the 89-year-old would have to make a decision if she cannot return before the vote to raise the debt ceiling this summer.
What You Need To Know
- Feinstein has been out since February as she recovers from shingles, according to her office. Worries about her health have come amid reports she has struggled with memory loss in recent years
- Last week, the senator asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to replace her on the Judiciary Committee so Senate Democrats could advance President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. In her absence, Democrats have been reluctant to hold votes with an evenly split committee
- Some Democrats have called on her to resign, but others have defended her and accused critics of sexism and ageism
- “This isn’t just about California, it’s also about the nation. And we just can’t, with this one vote margin [in the Senate] and expect every other person to be there every single time. It’s going to become an issue as the months go by,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Sunday
Feinstein has been out since February as she recovers from shingles, according to her office. Worries about her health have come amid reports she has struggled with memory loss in recent years.
Last week, the senator asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to replace her on the Judiciary Committee so Senate Democrats could advance President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. In her absence, Democrats have been reluctant to hold votes with an evenly split committee.
“Many people have been out, as you know, for periods of time when they’re sick and they have come back,” Klobuchar said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “If this goes on month after month after month, then she is going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds.”
“This isn’t just about California, it’s also about the nation. And we just can’t, with this one vote margin [in the Senate] and expect every other person to be there every single time. It’s going to become an issue as the months go by,” Klobuchar added.
Schumer agreed to Feinstein’s request, but Republicans could block the move.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on the senior senator for the nation’s largest state to resign this week and was quickly joined by Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who called Feinstein’s resistance to resigning a “dereliction of duty.”
“Only in Washington would you get criticized for saying something so obvious,” Khanna said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“There’s the sense that ‘well, you need to have a deference to these senators who served so long.’ How about a deference to the American people?” He asked “How about an expectation that if you sign up to do one of these jobs, you show up.”
Khanna supports Rep. Barbara Lee in the Democratic primary to replace Feinstein in 2024; fellow House Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff are also running. Feinstein said in February she would not run for reelection after 30 years representing California.
If Feinstein resigns before the end of her term, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pledged to appoint a Black woman. There have been no Black women in the Senate since former California Sen. Kamala Harris resigned to serve as vice president.
“Gov. Newsom can appoint a caretaker. He doesn’t have to appoint someone in the current race. And I would support the governor doing that,” Khanna said, defending himself from criticism that he was motivated by his support for Lee, the only Black woman in the race. “This has nothing to do with the current race because a caretaker would solve it. This has to do with someone who is just not showing up.”
“I said out loud what people have been saying in private,” Khanna added.
Other Democrats have rushed to Feinstein’s defense. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., questioned whether there was a double standard for Feinstein compared to her male colleagues who have also missed time for being sick.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., echoed Pelosi in a tweet, writing “When women age or get sick, the men are quick to push them aside. When men age or get sick, they get a promotion.”
On Sunday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., defended Feinstein and her prerogative to make a decision about the rest of her term.
“We’ve had so many senators who have had illnesses, whether it’s Mitch McConnell’s illnesses or senators who have had strokes. These are issues that are, we’re human, and we believe that a senator should be able to make their own judgements about when they’re retiring and when they’re not,” Gillibrand said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Diane will get better, she will come back to work.”
McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., have all missed time this year to recover from a fall, receive treatment for clinical depression, and undergo surgery for prostate cancer, respectively.
Casey missed a few days, but McConnell and Fetterman spent weeks in hospitals. The latter two senators are expected to return when the Senate reconvenes this week.
