We've highlighted how Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) absence continues to go noticed, especially as fellow Democrats are having a tough time getting President Joe Biden's judicial nominees confirmed. While it was announced in early March that Feinstein was taking an absence due to a case of shingles, the senator hoped to be back by the end of the month. March came and went, though, and Feinstein is still not back. Part of the chatter about her absence now involves fellow Democrats calling on Feinstein to resign.
.@jonlovett on Dianne Feinstein:
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) April 11, 2023
She is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges... As sad as it is to see someone who has had an incredibly storied and important career... Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She should resign. pic.twitter.com/aPPMVUJuq2
That Jon Lovett, a former Obama staffer and co-host of "Pod Save America," said during a podcast that Feinstein should resign certainly made headlines. As Lindsay Kornick highlighted for Fox News:
Speaking on his podcast "Pod Save America," Lovett remarked that the 89-year-old senator should step down from her position and that other people should be encouraging her to resign as well.
"Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She should resign, and more people should be calling on her to resign," Lovett said.
...
"There’s been a lot of reporting about Dianne Feinstein no longer being fit to serve in the Senate representing the biggest state in this country. She’s currently out for shingles. That is sad. That is obviously not her fault, but because she is not in the Judiciary Committee, Durbin has said that it has made it basically impossible to move a lot of these lower court nominees to the Senate for a vote," Lovett said. "Which means that Dianne Feinstein who should not be in the Senate is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges."
He also criticized Feinstein’s team for allowing her to continue to serve despite her failing health.
"And as sad as it is to sort of see someone who’s had an incredibly storied and long career and has done a lot of good for this state, I think what the people around Dianne Feinstein are doing, being part of this farce of having a lack of a senator at such an important job is really wrong," Lovett added.
Lovett is not the only one though. "Feinstein" has been trending on Twitter, as was the case on Monday, with people calling on her to resign.
Now that she is my Senator I finally feel even more emboldened to say: RESIGN. Do you know how many lifetime-appointed judges Trump was able to push through (like the one who just invalidated the FDA approval of mifepristone)? This is an emergency.
— Julia Claire (@ohJuliatweets) April 10, 2023
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was hospitalized in early March for shingles and has remained in her San Francisco home since March 7th, has missed 60 of the 82 votes taken in the Senate so far this year. The Senate, which has been on recess since March 31st, is preparing to return on… pic.twitter.com/rwLtmneTJX
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) April 11, 2023
Dianne Feinstein, 89, is MIA and has missed 60 of the 82 votes the Senate has taken this year, and her absence is holding up the confirmation of Biden's judicial picks at a really critical time. She needs to resign right now, not retire after the term. https://t.co/nHveg9JTyI
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) April 11, 2023
This is intolerable. We can’t waste time leaving these judges unconfirmed. Senator Feinstein has has a long & storied career. She must step down and let the Governor appoint her replacement. 40+ million people can not be represented by one senator. https://t.co/eZRK70BeTW
— PoliticsGirl (@IAmPoliticsGirl) April 11, 2023
Every Democrat should be calling on Dianne Feinstein to resign. I respect her tremendously, but missing 60 of the 82 votes taken in the Senate this year so far is inexcusable. Time to pass the torch to someone else. California deserves better than this.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) April 11, 2023
Further, even local news outlet the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted on Monday how "Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s continued absence is impacting judicial nominees," which has resulted in her missing 60 out of the 82 Senate votes for 2023.
The far-left Jezebel also lamented the situation, with Kylie Cheung insisting in her subheadline that Feinstein "needs to resign right now." And, this being Jezebel, the piece had to mention abortion. The closing, with added emphasis, is also a doozy:
Feinstein represents 40 million Americans and serves on four Senate committees. It seems we can both thank her for her service and decades of blazing a path for women in politics and recognize that her remaining in the Senate past her ability to do her job isn’t exactly a feminist victory—not when women and pregnant people stand to be harmed the most by the stalled confirmation of liberal judges.
While Feinstein's office announced in February that she was not running for reelection, it was announced last December that the 89-year-old would continue to serve out the remainder of her term.
Also absent is Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) who experienced a stroke shortly before he won the Democratic primary last May, which left many questioning if he had the cognitive ability to do the job. He has also been hospitalized for depression and will reportedly return on April 17, when the Senate comes back from its recess.