Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) indefinite absence in Washington has sparked calls from her own party members for her resignation and a request from the senator for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to “temporarily” fill her seat on a key panel that decides judicial nominees.
Feinstein, 89, has been home recovering from shingles for more than a month, which has caused her to miss dozens of floor votes and hold up Democrats’ approval of President Joe Biden’s pending judicial nominees.
The nominees must pass through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is currently split dead evenly between Republicans and Democrats while Feinstein is away.
On Wednesday, fellow Californian Rep. Ro Khanna was the first congressional Democrat to call for Feinstein to step down, saying in a statement, “It is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties.”
Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, another Democrat, soon chimed in that he agreed with Khanna.