Feinstein Finally Returns, Restoring Dems' Full Majority And Leftist Judiciary Pipeline

After a nearly three-month absence from the Senate as she contended with a persistent case of shingles, Dianne Feinstein returned to Washington on Tuesday night. It's a double-shot in the arm of Democrats, who regain their full majority both in the upper chamber of Congress and on its powerful Judiciary Committee.  

The timing of her return is significant, as Republicans and Democrats are in the midst of a showdown as the federal government rapidly approaches its debt limit. The GOP is demanding that any increase in the debt ceiling be accompanied by spending reforms. As recently four days ago, her office had declined to project when she would be back on duty.  

With Feinstein back, Democrats regain their 51-49 Senate majority. Her absence created a 10-10 tie on the Judiciary Committee, thwarting Democrat ambitions to stock federal benches with leftists. Without her, Biden's nominees weren't able to advance from the committee to a vote of approval from the Senate.  

Feinstein has missed at least 91 Senate floor votes since February. Fellow Democrats grew so frustrated with the situation that some began calling for Feinstein to resign from the Senate completely, including California Rep. Ro Khanna and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Predictably, Feinstein's defenders say the criticism is ageist and sexist. 

In April, Feinstein tried to relieve the Judiciary situation by announcing she would temporarily step down from the committee so an interim replacement could be named. However, Republicans quickly made it clear that wouldn't facilitate such a change to the committee's membership -- something that requires full approval of the Senate. 

Feinstein may have beaten shingles, but her declining mental health is arguably of even greater concern. Last May, The New York Times ran an extensive article titled "As Feinstein Declines, Democrats Struggle to Maintain an Open Secret." Here are two pointed excerpts: 

• Ms. Feinstein sometimes struggles to recall the names of colleagues, frequently has little recollection of meetings or telephone conversations, and at times walks around in a state of befuddlement. 
• One Democratic lawmaker who had an extended encounter with Ms. Feinstein in February said...the experience was akin to acting as a caregiver for a person in need of constant assistance. The lawmaker recalled having to reintroduce themself to the senator multiple times, helping her locate her purse repeatedly and answering the same set of basic, small-talk questions over and over again.

The oldest member of Congress, Feinstein will turn 90 on June 22. In February, she announced that she will not be running for re-election -- and just a few hours later, appeared to have forgotten that her office had done so. Contenders for her seat include Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Barbara Lee. 

In a recent op-ed, Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said Feinstein is "a prime example of why we need mental competency tests for politicians” over age 75...which would, of course, also include overall 2024 frontrunner Donald Trump.

Katie Porter walking past Dianne Feinstein when she returns to the senate for a vote next Tuesday pic.twitter.com/QQWWVKx5jx

— 2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) May 9, 2023