Senator Dianne Feinstein Called To Resign After Missing 60 Votes In 2023 Due To Ill Health
April 12 2023, Published 12:00 p.m. ET
Senator Dianne Feinstein was called to resign this week after it was revealed she has missed 60 of the 82 Senate votes taken so far this year, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Feinstein, 89, is currently recuperating in California after being hospitalized with shingles in early March.
The 89-year-old Democratic senator sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and her absence from the committee since March 7 has reportedly hindered the panel’s ability to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees.
According to Newsweek, Feinstein’s absence has left the committee with a 10-10 vote split, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said on Monday that the panel cannot "consider nominees in these circumstances because a tie vote is a losing vote."
Of the 60 votes Feinstein has missed this year, 25 were reportedly for judicial nominees while another 13 were for executive branch nominees.
Vice President Kamala Harris, via her role as president of the Senate, has been forced to cast at least three tie-breaking votes due to Feinstein’s lengthy absence.
Feinstein’s absence has now led a number of Democrats to call for the 89-year-old to resign due to its effect on the Senate’s ability to properly operate.
"Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate,” said Jon Lovett, President Barack Obama’s former speechwriter, this week. “She should resign and more people should be calling on her to resign."
"With all due respect, Feinstein needs to resign immediately,” echoed Obama fundraiser Jon Cooper, “or at least she should be replaced on the Judiciary Committee by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.”
"[Senator Feinstein] needs to resign right now, not retire after the term,” added Jezebel editor-in-chief Laura Bassett.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Feinstein was hospitalized early last month due to shingles.
Although the 89-year-old senator confirmed she would not be running for reelection come 2024, she did announce she intends to see her current term through to January 2025.
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Feinstein’s absence from the Senate also coincides with the absence of Democratic Senator John Fetterman who, shortly after joining the Senate in January, was hospitalized for depression.
Both Feinstein and Fetterman’s absences have made the party’s already thin 51-49 control of the Senate even more vulnerable.
