Dianne Feinstein defends work after New Yorker hit piece -- but won't commit to finishing term
By Brie Stimson
Fox News
December 12, 2020
Sen. Dianne Feinstein defended herself Friday against questions about mental decline -- but wouldn’t commit to finishing her term.
“If it changes, I'll let you know," Feinstein, 87, told a reporter at the Capitol. “I work hard. I have good staff. I think I am productive. And I represent the people of California as well as I possibly can."
The Democrat would next be up for reelection in 2024.
The questions came after criticism of her handling of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings and a New Yorker article last week that said she may be “seriously struggling” with short-term memory loss.
Some who spoke on background told the New Yorker “she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have.” Other former aides said the reports of decline have been “exaggerated.”
Feinstein, a former mayor of San Francisco, was elected in 1992 as one of California's first two female U.S. senators. She served with former Sen. Barbara Boxer until Sen. Kamala Harris succeeded Boxer in 2017
The report also said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has had several “painful” conversations with Feinstein about her health.
Feinstein announced late last month that she would not seek reelection to keep her role as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein told CNN she felt the New Yorker story wasn’t “particularly” fair, adding “no one” from the New Yorker “talked to” her about it. The New Yorker said her office declined to comment.
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Los Angeles Times columnist urges senator Dianne Feinstein to resign
Los Angeles Times columnist Erika Smith is urging Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to resign so that California Gov. Gavin Newsom can appoint a “Black or Latino” Democrat in her place.
Feinstein was hit with a damning report from The New Yorker that alleged accusations of her “cognitive decline,” which followed severe backlash she received from the left for the hug she gave her colleague, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., after the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
In a piece published in Feinstein’s home state paper on Thursday, Smith suggested that Newsom should be filling two vacant Senate seats instead of just the one replacing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, which means he can appoint both a Black and Latino to the Senate instead of sacrificing one for the other.
“Representation does matter, and the more I listen to Black and Latino leaders demand it on behalf of a state that is becoming more diverse every year, the less I understand why our senior senator is still in office, blocking progress,” Smith wrote. “At 87 years old, Feinstein is the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, a member of the Silent Generation in a state dominated by people under 40. She is a wealthy woman in a state overrun with poverty, and the homelessness that too often accompanies it.”
The columnist explained, “Given all of this, it would make perfect sense for Feinstein to be selfless and retire early with California’s gratitude for a distinguished career. Now is absolutely the time to be an ally to communities of color and let another younger lawmaker represent the evolving values of this state. For to adequately address the many long-standing, race-based disparities in everything from healthcare to housing, California needs a Black senator and a Latino senator.”
While her current term
doesn’t end until 2025, Feinstein has already signaled that she will
step down as the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
1 comment:
How about Maxine Waters? Would that be an improvement? I am getting so damn sick of this goddamn box checking. How about somebody who is honest and competent as the main qualifications? I realize that may sound crazy but what the hell, it might actually work.
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