California Rep. Khanna Pushes Dianne Feinstein To Resign From Senate Amid Health Worries

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California Rep. Ro Khanna (D) called on longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign from office Wednesday—the first major Democrat to call for the 89-year-old to step down, amid a weeks-long health-related absence.

Rep Ro Khanna called on retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign, though Feinstein’s spokesperson … [+] had previously said the Democrat plans to serve the remainder of her term.

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Key Facts

Khanna said in a Wednesday afternoon tweet: “We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty,” adding it’s “obvious” the five-term senator can no longer “fulfill her duties.”

Feinstein has been working remotely from her home in San Francisco since March 7 while she recovers from shingles, missing dozens of votes and preventing some of President Joe Biden’s nominees for judgeships from advancing through the Judiciary Committee.

It remains unclear exactly when Feinstein will return to Congress, and Politico reported Wednesday some Democrats aren’t sure she’ll return.

Feinstein announced in February she will not seek reelection in 2024, after more than 50 years of public service, but Feinstein’s spokesperson Adam Russell told the San Francisco Chronicle she plans to serve the remainder of her term, which ends in January 2025.

Khanna’s comments come after some media figures called for Feinstein’s resignation, including former Obama Administration speechwriter and podcast host Jon Lovett.

Forbes has reached out to Feinstein’s office for comment.

Tangent

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) has also been absent from Congress from over a month following a hospital stay for depression, but he plans to return next week. The absences have strained Democrats’ narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, forcing Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tiebreaking votes.

Key Background

Feinstein first entered the Senate after a 1992 special election, following a long stint in San Francisco city politics. She is the longest-serving female senator in U.S. history and wielded significant influence in the upper chamber, serving as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee and chair of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee. But questions about Feinstein’s age have circulated in recent years, though she has maintained that she’s still fit to represent the nation’s largest state. Some reports have suggested her memory has faded, and she stepped down as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee in 2020, after progressives criticized her handling of the contentious confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

What To Watch For

If Feinstein resigns, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will appoint a replacement to represent the state for the remainder of her term. That decision could have implications for next year’s Senate race, which currently features Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter.

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What To Watch For

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