California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s memory and health are failing her. That’s not meant to be a slight or an attack against her – she’s 89 years old. That’s typically what happens to everyone, senators included.
And while it’s certainly concerning that she had to be reminded multiple times that she was no longer in a leadership position on the Judiciary Committee (and that whispers of her deteriorating short-term memory are only getting louder), it’s even more troublesome that her health is now preventing Democrats from doing essentially anything of importance in the deadlocked Senate, where Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority.
To date in 2023, Feinstein, who is the oldest member of the Senate, has missed at least 60 votes as she recuperates from shingles treatment in her San Francisco home. But the most important thing here is that Feinstein is literally holding up the process of confirming judicial appointments, because there’s no way Democrats could get these Biden nominees through without everyone on board.
For all the headlines about Supreme Court justices and their very public, often very intense confirmation hearings, federal judges have an incredible amount of power in this country as well. We’ve seen it recently in the arenas of abortion and President Biden’s attempt to forgive student loan debt. Federal judges affect millions of American lives, and thanks to the Trump administration’s ability to push through 234 judges of its own (across the Supreme Court and both circuit and district judges), the ramifications of their decisions will be felt for decades to come, leaving normal Americans as the victims of the culture war currently being waged.
So until Feinstein comes back – a date in which she’s given no clear indication – Democrats are supposed to just sit on their hands with these appointees.
There does appear to be some movement on the issue, however. The Senate returns on April 17 looking to actually accomplish something, and the calls for Feinstein’s resignation have begun, with California representative Ro Khanna calling for her to resign given that she’s clearly unfit to serve.
It doesn’t appear Feinstein is going down without a fight, though. She will only temporarily give up her seat on the Judiciary Committee, even though she hasn’t cast a single vote since announcing she wouldn’t run for reelection in 2024.
Until then, Feinstein will continue “working from home,” though it honestly feels like her days of serving in the Senate are all but done.
There’s no need to sugarcoat the situation or add in the caveat that Feinstein has had some sort of magical, storied career in the Senate. That doesn’t matter – the truth is an 89-year-old has no business affecting the lives of 40 million constituents and the country at large. It’s a stressful enough job for someone half her age, and the time for decorum has long since passed.
Feinstein’s stranglehold on the Democrats’ ability to get work done in the Senate has got to end. It’s time to go.
(Photo credit: Senate Democrats)
