Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) supported Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Wednesday, when some Democrats wanted Feinstein to quit because she had been sick for a long time and hadn’t been in Washington.
A local CBS station showed a video of Pelosi telling reporters, “I’ve never seen them go after a sick man in the Senate that way,” when asked about Feinstein, who is 89 and has been at home for a month and a half to heal from shingles.
Pelosi said, “I’ve been the leader of the House, also called the speaker, for 20 years. I’ve seen how well she leads our country and, in particular, our state of California.”She has worked hard and deserves to feel better and go back to work, which I find interesting. I don’t understand why Senator Feinstein is being attacked in this way.
Pelosi’s words came after at least two Democrats in Congress and others on the left, like podcaster and former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett, asked Feinstein to step down because her absence made it harder for Senate Democrats, who have a small majority, to vote.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), the first Democrat in Congress to speak out, said on Wednesday, “It is clear that she can no longer do her job, even though she has spent her whole life helping the people. If we don’t speak up, it hurts our image as the people’s representatives.
Feinstein is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has an equal number of Republicans and Democrats and is in charge of approving President Joe Biden’s judge nominees. Since Feinstein isn’t there, the committee can’t decide anything.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who is in charge of the committee, told CNN on Monday that he couldn’t look at the names “under these circumstances” because a tie vote in a committee is a vote to lose.
Feinstein put out a statement Wednesday night in response to the rising heat on her. She said that her illness had caused her to have “complications” and that she would go back to Washington when her doctors gave her the green light.
She also asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to “temporarily” fill her empty spot on the committee with another Democrat on Wednesday night, which was an unusual move. This would help the Democrats move forward with Biden’s court picks.
To do this, though, at least some Republicans would have to accept, and since federal courts are at stake, it’s not clear if they will.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) went to a hospital on February 15 because he was feeling sad. This was one of the last times a male senator had to miss work because of his health.
Fetterman, on the other hand, has set a firm date for his return: April 17, when the Senate returns from a two-week break.
In another recent case, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is 81 like Feinstein, was taken to the hospital in early March after he fell. Thursday, he said on social media that he would also be back in D.C. on Monday.
Feinstein is the oldest senator, and her colleagues said last year that her memory was “rapidly deteriorating,” as recorded by the San Francisco Chronicle.