Dianne Feinstein, 88, Failing to Recognize Senate Colleagues, Say Sources Fearing for Her Health

Veteran Senator Dianne Feinstein is sometimes unable to recognize longstanding colleagues or keep up with arguments in the chamber, according to a new report. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that on one recent conversation with another lawmaker, Feinstein, 88, who recently lost her husband, “repeated the same small-talk questions… with no apparent recognition the two had already had a similar conversation.” The Chronicle report says “four U.S. senators, including three Democrats, as well as three former Feinstein staffers and the California Democratic member of Congress” told them “that her memory is rapidly deteriorating” and that she can “no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required to represent the nearly 40 million people of California.” The sources said that on good days, Feinstein “is nearly as sharp as she used to be” and the Chronicle pointed out that she performed well during confirmation hearings for new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. A source described as “a staffer for a California Democrat” told the paper, “There’s a joke on the Hill, we’ve got a great junior senator in Alex Padilla and an experienced staff in Feinstein’s office.” In a statement, Feinstein said: “The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago. But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”