Numerous Senate Democrats Reportedly Warn Dianne Feinstein is No Longer Fit as Memory Rapidly Deteriorates
Some Senate Democrats have warned that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is no longer fit to serve and claimed that her memory has been rapidly deteriorating, according to a report published on Thursday in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In addition to interviewing four senators, three of whom were Democrats, the Chronicle also interviewed four former Feinstein staffers. All of the sources were anonymous. Feinstein, who has been in the Senate in 1992, is not up for re-election until 2024.
The outlet also interviewed a “California Democrat in Congress,” though it is unclear if that member is California’s other senator, Alex Padilla, a Democrat, or a member of the House of Representatives.
According to the Chronicle, which reported on a recent conversation between that lawmaker and Feinstein:
Rather than delve into policy, Feinstein, 88, repeated the same small-talk questions, like asking the lawmaker what mattered to voters in their district, they said, with no apparent recognition the two had already had a similar conversation.
The episode was so unnerving that the lawmaker — who spoke to The Chronicle on condition they not be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic — began raising concerns with colleagues to see if some kind of intervention to persuade Feinstein to retire was possible. Feinstein’s term runs through the end of 2024. The conversation occurred several weeks before the death of her husband in February.
“I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone,” the lawmaker told the Chronicle. “She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that’s why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that.”
Some Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is from California, defended Feinstein.
“Senator Feinstein is a workhorse for the people of California and a respected leader among her colleagues in the Senate,” said Pelosi. “She is constantly traveling between California and the Capitol, working relentlessly to ensure Californians’ needs are met and voices are heard.”
In a statement to the publication, Feinstein said, “The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago. But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”
