California Rep. Ro Khanna on Wednesday became the first Democratic lawmaker to openly call on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to step down amid concerns about her health, saying the longtime senator can no longer fulfill her duties.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., later seconded Khanna’s call, and Feinstein issued a statement saying she has asked for another Democrat to temporarily replace her on the critical Senate Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein, a California Democrat, has missed nearly two months of work at the Capitol after contracting shingles. Her absence from the Judicial Committee has delayed votes on a number of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations. On Monday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Judiciary Committee, told CNN that he “can’t consider nominees in these circumstances because a tie vote is a losing vote in committee.”
In a tweet Wednesday, Khanna, a Democrat representing Silicon Valley, said: “It’s time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties.”
“We have a crisis of reproductive rights in America with extremist Texas judges depriving Americans of their freedom to choose medicine,” Khanna told MarketWatch on Wednesday. “We can’t have Sen. Feinstein missing vote after vote on confirming judges. This is the moment for Gov. Newsom to take the lead in appointing someone so we can get the president’s judicial appointments confirmed.”
Phillips later tweeted: “Senator Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable. But I believe it’s now a dereliction of duty to remain in the Senate and a dereliction of duty for those who agree to remain quiet.”
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Feinstein said her return to Washington has been delayed by health complications. “I intend to return as soon as possible,” she said, adding that she remains committed to her job but has asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve until I’m able to resume my committee work.”
That’s easier said than done though. It would take a resolution with at least 60 votes in the Senate to replace her on the committee, and it’s unclear why Republicans would want to go along and make it easier for Democrats.
On Tuesday, Politico reported there was growing concern among Democrats that she may never return to Washington. The 89-year-old Feinstein has said she will not run for re-election, but she still has two years left in her current term.
Feinstein has missed 59 of 77 Senate votes taken in 2023 — 77% — according to govtrack.us.
Khanna is not running for Feinstein’s seat in 2024, which already has a crowded field of Democrats, including Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Adam Schiff. On Tuesday, Republican attorney Eric Early joined the race.
A number of Democratic and left-leaning activists, including former Obama speechwriter and “Pod Save America” host Jon Lovett, have also called for Feinstein to step down, complaining Democrats are squandering their narrow Senate majority.
MarketWatch reporter Levi Sumagaysay contributed to this report.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
