Bill Maher Says It’s ‘Crazy’ For Lawmakers Like Dianne Feinstein To Stay In Office: ‘She Thinks the Coatrack Is Barbara Stanwyck’

Bill Maher joined Wednesday’s edition of The Beat on MSNBC, where he and Ari Melber discussed the prevalence of elderly lawmakers in Congress.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) froze while taking a question from a reporter. It was his second such public incident in five weeks. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has experienced substantial cognitive decline in recent years. This week, she forgot she had ceded power of attorney to her daughter. In May, Feinstein forgot or was unaware she had been away from the Senate for nearly three months due to shingles.

While some in their respective parties have called for McConnell and Feinstein to step down, the senators have resisted those calls. In Feinstein’s case, some Democrats have claimed those calls are rooted in sexism.

“It’s ridiculous,” Maher told Melber. “It has nothing to do with the fact that she’s a woman. It’s the fact that she thinks the coatrack is Barbara Stanwyck. And yes, it’s a case-by-case basis, I always say, for age. But in this case, it’s ridiculous. I mean, we went through the same thing. Remember Strom Thurmond? He was, like– how old was he? And was doddering and drooling.”

Melber went on to share that he was a Senate aide during Thurmond’s final years in the Senate. He retired from the chamber in 2003 at age 99.

“He was in his 90s,” Melber explained. “I was working as a Senate aide, and they used to wheel him in. And his hand would go up and you couldn’t tell if it was up or down [while voting]. And the aide would be like, ‘That’s down.’ I’m not joking.”

“Yes, that’s crazy,” Maher replied.

Watch above via MSNBC.