Dianne Feinstein Defends Absence But Does Not Say When She’ll Return To Senate

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday defended her absence from the Senate, saying that her monthslong recovery from shingles hasn’t slowed the pace of confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees.

“There has been no slowdown,” Feinstein said in a statement released by her office, pointing the finger instead at Republicans for blocking a few nominees from moving forward in the Senate judiciary committee.

Feinstein, whose last vote in the Senate was in mid-February, did not give an update on when she plans to return to the upper chamber. There was some speculation that she might return as early as next week, but that doesn’t appear likely.

“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,” Feinstein said.

The 89-year-old veteran Democrat is set to retire at the end of next year, but some House Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ro Khanna (Calif.), have called on Feinstein to retire before the end of her term so Democrats are able to confirm Biden’s nominees.

Democrats may also need Feinstein’s presence in the upper chamber for upcoming votes on raising the debt limit. Treasury has said that Congress must suspend the debt ceiling by June 1 or else trigger an unprecedented default.

Feinstein’s office on Thursday released a list of district and circuit court nominees who have been confirmed in her absence, with more nominees with bipartisan support awaiting consideration on the Senate floor. Four nominees on that list do not have bipartisan support, however, and Democrats haven’t been able to advance them out of the judiciary committee without every Democratic senator present.

Senate Democrats said they don’t know when Feinstein will make her return.

“She’s gotta make those decisions herself. Obviously, we’re concerned about judicial nominations,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Thursday when asked about Feinstein’s future.

Last month, Feinstein announced her plan to step down temporarily from the judiciary committee until she can go back to work in Washington. But Republicans blocked that effort, saying they didn’t want to make it easier for Democrats to confirm several Biden nominees who do not have bipartisan support.