Sen. Feinstein is the senator with the longest tenure in American history.
Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, praised Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s “energy and concentration” despite calls from both factions for the California Democrat to resign due to her health.
I believe that Senator Feinstein has had a remarkable career. She has acknowledged that she has medical issues at this stage, I think. Reed told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream that she can still muster the strength and focus necessary to vote.
In recent weeks, several Democrats, including Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ro Khanna, have urged Feinstein to step down, arguing that her absence from voting has hampered the party’s efforts to enact legislation and that she cannot fulfill her responsibilities.
Feinstein announced in March that she had been absent from senatorial duties for three months due to a case of shingles. On May 11, she returned to Capitol Hill to attend a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. Feinstein missed at least 93 votes between February and May in her absence.
Feinstein, first elected in 1992, is the state’s longest-serving senator and the nation’s longest-serving female senator. She said earlier this year that she would not run for re-election in 2024 when her tenure expires.
“I think she should be able to choose what she wants to do with her job. When he retired, Strom Thurmond was 100 years old, and I had the chance to work with him. And some people back then said he should go, but not as firmly as they do now, Reed said. Again, I think that Sen. Feinstein should think about this and decide,” he said.
