Lindsey Graham Says Dianne Feinstein Is in a Bad Way: ‘You Can See She’s Hurting’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) noted his “dear friend” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is in rough shape.

Feinstein returned to the Senate last week after a nearly three-month absence. She was hospitalized in February with shingles. But more than that, the senator has shown signs of significant cognitive decline in recent years.

The latest example came on Tuesday when she appeared to be unaware she had just been sidelined from Senate business. Slate’s Jim Newell relayed this startling account from the halls of Congress:

When the fellow reporter asked her what the response from her colleagues had been like since her return, though, the conversation took an odd turn.

“No, I haven’t been gone,” she said.

OK.

“You should follow the—I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working.”

When asked whether she meant that she’d been working from home, she turned feisty.

“No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please. You either know or don’t know.”

On Wednesday, CNN’s Manu Raju spoke with Graham, who serves on the Judiciary Committee with Feinstein.

“She’s a dear friend,” Graham said. “As a friend, you can see she’s hurting.”

Raju also spoke with committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and asked whether he thinks Feinstein should resign her seat before her term expires in January 2025.

“I can’t be the judge of that,” he said. “But I will tell you that she has to make that decision for herself and her family as to going forward. But we’re happy to have her back.”

Durbin added that he’s “monitoring her medical condition almost on a daily basis.”

Feinstein missed a slew of votes on her absence, prompting the Judiciary Committee to deadlock on several of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations.

Watch above via CNN.