Dianne Feinstein Faces Resign Calls After Missing 60 Senate Votes in 2023
Feinstein, 89, is recovering after being hospitalized with shingles in early March. Before she became ill with the painful but non life-threatening condition in February, the Democrat had missed two Senate votes in 2023.
Feinstein has not returned to Washington D.C. as she recovers at her San Francisco home. Since March 7, Feinstein has missed a further 58 Senate votes, meaning she has failed to vote in 60 votes of the 82 Senate votes taken in 2023 so far.
She should have retired already, but at the very least she (or the people who surround her) need to have her step-back from the Judiciary Committee and appoint a new member because it's a TICKING CLOCK as to whether Dems will have a Senate majority (or even control of the White House) after 2024.
Every single judicial position needs to be filled and you need present members on the Judiciary committee.
Feinstein asks for Judiciary replacement after calls for resignation
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced on Wednesday that her return to work in Washington has been delayed due to ongoing health complications and called on the Senate to appoint a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary Committee.
Her announcement came hours after Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) called for her to resign from the chamber.
“I intend to return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it’s safe for me to travel.” I’m not so much worried about her ability to travel as I am for her to make cognitive decisions.
I'm sorry, but an 89 year old who is too frail to travel to Washington should be retired.
There is a generational issue. Just look at RBG and every day boomers who refuse to retire despite having plenty of retirement savings. That generation just refuses to make way for the next unless pushed.
There is zero reason why there should be people above 70 in the legislative or judicial branch.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday night that she had asked to be “temporarily” replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee while she is recovering from shingles, but the California Democrat remained committed to returning to the Senate amid pressure by some in her party to step down.
If she resigns now doesn’t Gavin Newsom have the opportunity to appoint her successor until the next election? She should resign just for that alone, and she’s missed the past 60 Senate votes. I’m not a Californian but her constituents deserve a voice, she’s not providing one now when needed badly.
The people around her propping her up and not letting her resign are the problem. She's got dementia and they are abusing her so they can use her position.
There is no mechanism that can remove an elected representative or senator if they are incapacitated. At least with the President, we have the 25th Amendment's protocols. The Senate could move to expel a member with the requisite 2/3rds vote, but 1) that hasn't been used since expelling Confederate Senators at the beginning of the Civil War and 2) good luck getting 2/3rds vote in the current Senate. The Senate could also amend its own rules to effectuate a vacancy, but that is constitutionally murky and would set a worrying precedent. Beyond that, there is not really a way to legally force a Senator to resign beyond public pressure.
Historically, we've had Senators and Representatives absent for health issues and not resign. Sen. Kennedy was often absent for extended periods towards the end of his life for cancer treatment and Sen. Byrd was often absent for various health issues in the years leading up to his death. In fact, the only real Congressional precedent for declaring a vacancy due to incapacitation appears to be in the House of Representatives. In one case, a sitting representative fell into a coma shortly before election day, but was still re-elected. Being comatose, she obviously could not be sworn in and eventually, after it became clear recovery was unlikely, the House passed an act declaring her seat vacant, thus triggering a special election. The second example occurred while Alaska's representative was running for re-election and campaigning with another representative. The plane they were travelling in crashed and was never found. Similarly to the first example, they were both re-elected on election day and, as neither were able to be sworn in, the House eventually declared the seats vacant and triggered special elections.
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