“I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Feinstein’s fellow San Francisco Democrat, told reporters last week.īut others say the scrutiny is a natural byproduct of a slimly divided Senate. Lawmakers from both parties suggested the more open speculation about Feinstein’s health was motivated by a sexist double standard. Byrd of West Virginia similarly tread lightly in speaking about his ailments - including a six-week hospitalization for a staph infection - even as his deteriorating condition was apparent as he was wheeled onto the Senate floor to cast decisive votes to pass the Affordable Care Act in 2009. Strom Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina, continued to serve until his late 90s, questions of his fitness and mobility were mostly muted. Health has traditionally been a taboo topic in the Senate, where deference to seniority remains strong. I think it’s better for the people who voted for you, who put their trust in you,” Boxer said. “Should there be transparency? I say yes. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who served in the Senate with Feinstein for more than 20 years. Such an independent assessment is crucial in cases of long-term health challenges, said former Sen. “I’m confident that when I return to the Senate, we will be able to move the remaining qualified nominees out of committee quickly and to the Senate floor for a vote.”įeinstein’s office declined to provide a briefing or written report from her doctor to The Times. “I’m disappointed that Republicans on the committee are blocking a few from moving forward,” Feinstein said. On Thursday, Feinstein released a statement in response to the criticism that she is impeding the confirmation of judges, pointing out that the Judiciary Committee has approved most of those who have come forward during her absence. “She has been unable to provide an exact timeline for her return to Washington because that is contingent upon her doctor’s advising her that it’s safe for her to travel.” “Like any serious medical condition, shingles does not follow a straight line from diagnosis to recovery,” Russell said. Last month, Feinstein requested a Democratic member temporarily replace her on the Senate Judiciary Committee to allay concerns about a backlog of judge confirmations, but Republicans blocked that effort. After a brief hospitalization in February, Feinstein has been recuperating at home in San Francisco. Feinstein would compromise the public interest in this way” by withholding that critical information, Eisen said.įeinstein spokesman Adam Russell said the senator “has been transparent that her absence from Washington is due to a shingles diagnosis” and related complications. “Frankly, it is inexplicable to me that a long-standing public servant and leader like Sen.
Gavin Newsom’s promise to appoint a Black woman if a U.S. Dianne Feinstein’s weeks-long absence from Washington has refocused attention on Gov. Politics Feinstein’s absence puts focus on Newsom’s promise to appoint a Black woman as senator That accounting, he said, must involve a “full medical briefing on her condition and on its prognosis the best and honest judgment whether she’ll be able to return, and if so, when and for how long she’ll be able to work everyday.” There should be “the highest degree of transparency of the senator’s medical condition,” said Norm Eisen, an ethics official in the Obama White House who now works at the Brookings Institution, in written comments. The predicament has put into stark relief the challenge of balancing a lawmaker’s privacy against the public’s right to know about the health of their representatives.
Senators must be at the Capitol to vote, and are not allowed to do so remotely. With Democrats holding a bare-bones majority in the Senate, they need Feinstein’s vote to confirm judges, approve Biden Cabinet nominees and potentially avert a debt ceiling default. But with her prolonged absence from the Capitol this spring, pressure is building on the 89-year-old senator and her staff to provide additional details about her condition. For years, Feinstein has swatted down growing concerns about her health, assuring constituents largely through statements to the media that she is still able to serve.
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