Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett said Tuesday that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) should resign, noting that her current absence from the upper chamber is preventing the Senate from confirming justices.
“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 is currently out for shingles. That is sad. That is obviously not her fault,” he said on his “Pod Save America” podcast.
Lovett, a former speechwriter for former President Obama, noted that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has referenced the challenge her absence poses.
“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, which means that Dianne Feinstein, who should not be in the Senate, is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges,” Lovett said.
“I think what the people around Dianne Feinstein are doing, allowing, being part of this farce of having a lack of a senator in such an important job is really wrong,” Lovett continued. “And Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She has to resign and more people should be calling on her to resign.”
Feinstein, 89, was hospitalized with shingles early last month, saying that she hopes to return to Washington “as soon as possible.” Feinstein, who is the oldest U.S. senator, announced in February that she will not be seeking a sixth term for office. Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) have both announced their campaigns to fill her seat in 2024.
Feinstein’s absence, coupled with Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) absence, created problems for Democrats who needed to operate with a 49-49 split in the Senate. Fetterman, who was being treated for clinical depression, will return to the Senate floor after the April recess, opening the door for Democrats to work with a slim majority.
“We hope to be back to full strength right after Easter and to get back down to business,” Durbin told The Hill earlier this month.