In the wake of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, many Democratic politicians, constituents, and newspapers called on Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley to resign over their objections to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory. But when asked her thoughts on the matter, Sen. Dianne Feinstein didn’t appear on board with those efforts.
“I think the Senate is a place of freedom. And people come here to speak their piece, and they do, and they provide a kind of leadership,” Feinstein told reporters Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“In some cases, it’s positive, in some cases, maybe not. A lot of that depends on who’s looking and what party they are,” she added.
“But it’s an important place to have this kind of dialogue,” the California Democrat continued. “It’s probably the highest-level dialogue that you get in an electoral body.”
Her response riled up leftists on Twitter, who then demanded she resign.
Dem @SenFeinstein doesn’t appear on board with punishing @SenTedCruz or @HawleyMO for role in challenging electoral college. “I think the Senate is a place of freedom, and people come here to speak their peace”
— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) January 19, 2021
Yes it is! Retire or be expelled for giving aid and comfort to the insurgents.
— Kim Sherrell (@kim) January 19, 2021
Both Hawley and Cruz have dismissed calls for them to resign.
The Texas Republican promised AOC that he isn't going anywhere after she called on him to step down.
"Leading a debate in the Senate on ensuring election integrity is doing our jobs, and it’s in no way responsible for the despicable terrorists who attacked the Capitol yesterday. And sorry, I ain’t going anywhere," Cruz replied on Twitter.
Hawley has said he "will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections."