Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has rejected calls from a growing chorus of Democrats for Republicans to cooperate with their efforts to replace Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporary absent colleague off the committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees,” the Kentucky senator and ranking Republican said on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator in American history, entered the body in 1992 and, at 89, is the oldest member in the chamber. She was hospitalized in early March following a bout with shingles and has yet to return to active political duty.
Feinstein’s absence from the Judiciary Committee has reportedly led to the delay in the confirmation of at least a dozen of President Biden’s federal judicial appointees. Moreover, the California senator has missed dozens of votes while she recovers at her home in San Francisco.
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Last Wednesday, Feinstein released a public statement acknowledging the growing frustration over her lingering absence from Capitol Hill.
“I understand that my absence could delay the important work of the Judiciary Committee, so I’ve asked Leader Schumer to ask the Senat to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve until I’m able to resume my committee work.”
McConnell, who returned to the Senate on Monday following a fall that left him hospitalized in early March, has committed to blocking Democratic efforts to replace Feinstein, whose absence has narrowed the party’s majority in the body to just one seat.
Replacing Feinstein would require 60 overall votes and at least 10 Republicans to vote across party lines to give the Democrats what they want.
Leading House Democrats including Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasion-Cortez (D., N.Y.) have also called upon Feinstein urgently relinquish her duties for the sake of the party.
“It’s time for @SenFeinstein to resign,” the California representative tweeted last Wednesday. “We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.”
Fellow House representative Jamaal Bowman (D., Ny.) joined his colleagues supporting Feinstein’s departure during an interview with CNN on Monday. “She’s had a very long and stellar career, you know, but missing that many votes, stopping us from moving forward with our judge nominations,” Bowman said.
However, fellow Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) and Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), have come to Feinstein’s aid.
“She’s a team player, and she’s an extraordinary member of the Senate,” Gillibrand insisted during a recent interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “It’s her right. She’s been voted by her state to be senator for six years. She has the right, in my opinion, to decide when she steps down.”
“I think that is really an important, a responsible thing to do during her absence, because we have President Biden’s nominees waiting for hearings and votes and we want to keep that moving. But I wish her well and hope she returns to the Senate very soon,” Baldwin said during an appearance on Meet the Press.
Prior to her decades-long stint in the Senate, Feinstein served as the Mayor of San Francisco and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California.