Dianne Feinstein’s future could lay in the hands of McConnell
Jack Birle
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As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returns to the chamber after suffering a concussion from a fall in March, he may be a deciding factor in the fate of another senator in the midst of an extended absence.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has requested to be replaced temporarily on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but such a move would require 10 Republicans to approve the replacement.
KLOBUCHAR SAYS FEINSTEIN ‘BETTER’ MAKE A DECISION ON RETURNING ‘BEFORE THE DEBT CEILING VOTE’
The 89-year-old has been out of the Senate since February due to a bout of shingles. She has missed 60 of the 82 votes taken in the Senate this year, and her absence on the committee has held up several of President Joe Biden‘s judicial nominees.
McConnell is not likely to whip Republicans to vote to allow Democrats to swap out Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee because of his legacy with judicial matters, per Politico.
“My instinct is he would do everything he could to keep Democrats from stacking the federal judiciary. It would be a little strange for him to grease the wheels to continue to churn out what heretofore has been a pretty high rate of confirmations,” a confidant to McConnell said.
One of the biggest achievements Republicans cite when it comes to McConnell’s leadership in the Senate was his decision to hold open the seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016 until then-President Donald Trump was sworn in the next year, allowing a Republican president rather than a Democratic president appoint the successor to the influential conservative justice. McConnell’s other major legacy points include the vast number of federal judges the Senate approved under Trump.
The advisory role of the Senate has become a cornerstone of McConnell’s legacy as GOP leader, and if the Senate allows a Democrat to replace Feinstein on the committee, it would likely mean Biden would be able to appoint and confirm a number of federal judges.
The California Democrat’s absence on the powerful committee has been one of the top reasons some Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), want her to resign from office.
Feinstein has vowed to return to the Senate. So far, her promise has been enough to quell concerns from most of her colleagues. If her absence continues, however, Democrats may become restless, as the party has a 51-49 Senate majority.
“If this goes on month after month after month, she will need to make a decision with her family and her friends about what the future holds. This isn’t just about California. It’s also about the nation. We just can’t, with a one-vote margin, expect every other person to be there every single time. It could become an issue as the months go by, but I’m taking her at her word that she’s going to return,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday.
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Feinstein has already said she will not seek another term for her Senate seat, which she was first elected to in 1992. The race for her seat in 2024 is set to be a fierce battle between Golden State Democrats.
If she were to resign, it would mean Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) would get to appoint a replacement until an election is held for the seat. Newsom appointed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) to fill the vacancy left by then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) when she resigned to become vice president in 2021. Having to appoint Feinstein’s successor could be a political nightmare for Newsom amid the hotly contested primary for the seat.