Khanna clarifies call for Feinstein’s resignation: ‘Let’s have someone who can vote’

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) doubled down on his comments from earlier this week calling for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign, saying that the country should have “someone who can vote.”

Feinstein, 89, has not voted in the Senate since February and remains in California while dealing with a severe case of shingles, which at one point required hospitalization. While Feinstein is out, Democrats can not nominate or vote through new judges because of her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Khanna explained.

“I have a lot of respect for Sen. Feinstein’s public service, but … we’re in a crisis in this country,” Khanna said Saturday on MSNBC. “The single biggest thing this president can do with a Republican House is confirm judges and [Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)] has said we’re not able to confirm judges.”

Feinstein offered to step away from her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, but that move requires approval from Republicans on the committee, and still hampers full-Senate votes in her absence. With Feinstein gone, Democrats only hold 50 seats in the body — giving them a tie with Republicans.

“Every day that goes by … is one less day this president has to appoint a judge to push back against the assault on women’s rights and voting rights,” Khanna said.

He also said that multiple lawmakers have privately shown support for her resignation.

Feinstein has already said she will not run for reelection in 2024, and a suite of younger California Democrats have gotten in line to take her place. Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have all declared their candidacies for the seat.

Khanna has supported Lee as Feinstein’s replacement, and said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should appoint her to the empty seat if Feinstein were to resign. Newsom has previously pledged that he would appoint a Black woman to the seat.

“[Lee] is one of the most extraordinary people in modern American history. The most consistent anti-war voice,” he said on Saturday. “Whether the governor appoints a caretaker or her, he should appoint an African-American woman.”

“There’s not a single African-American woman in the United States Senate in 2023. That should be an embarrassment to our country,” he added.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) has also been absent from the Senate for two months as he sought support for depression. He and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was recovering from a concussion, will return this week following the April recess.