Four things Democrats can get done when Feinstein returns to Senate
Ryan King
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Democrats will find themselves back in a position of power in the Senate when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) returns to the Capitol on Wednesday.
Feinstein had been out of the upper chamber since February after contracting shingles. At 89, a handful of Democrats called upon her to resign, frustrated by the headaches her prolonged absence caused. Now that she is back, Democrats can charge ahead with stalled judiciary business.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN MAKING RETURN TO SENATE FOR FIRST TIME IN MONTHS
Here are four big things Senate Democrats can do because of Feinstein’s return.
Push through controversial judges
The loudest complaint about Feinstein’s absence was the fact that Democrats lacked the votes needed to approve President Joe Biden’s controversial judicial picks. Nominees who garnered bipartisan support have largely been able to clear the panel, and ones that made it to the floor could get approved as well.
Democrats such as Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have called on her to step down, alluding to stalled progress on the panel. Feinstein refused to step down but requested a substitute be named in her place, a maneuver Republicans refused to let Democrats try.
“The Senate continues to swiftly confirm highly qualified individuals to the federal judiciary, including seven more judicial nominees who were confirmed this week. There has been no slowdown,” Feinstein said in a statement last week.
She noted that, at the time, only “four district or circuit court nominees are currently eligible for a vote in committee.” With her return, Democrats will be able to get them across the finish line.
Subpoena Supreme Court justices
During her absence, controversy broke out about Supreme Court justices failing to disclose gifts or significant financial activity. The firestorm was sparked by revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t disclose gifts from a Republican megadonor.
Justice Neil Gorsuch was also rocked by revelations that he didn’t disclose the sale of a log cabin to an executive of a prominent law firm that has been involved in Supreme Court cases.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) invited Chief Justice John Roberts to appear before a panel hearing last week on the matter. Roberts declined. So far, Durbin has decided not to issue a subpoena, but due to Feinstein’s absence, he lacked the option.
“It takes a majority. I don’t have a majority,” Durbin told reporters about a subpoena last month, Politico reported. “There’s been no discussion of subpoenas for anyone at this point.”
Feinstein’s return has restored the subpoena option for Democrats.
More breathing room on debt ceiling
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) likely lacks the votes to pass a clean bill to hike the debt ceiling, given Republicans’ likely filibuster. But Feinstein’s extended absence made his position even weaker. Her return gives him a full slate of 51 Democrats to work with.
So far, he hasn’t even attempted a vote on such a measure. Feinstein’s added vote could prove to be critical if Schumer attempts to peel off Republicans during the later stages of the standoff. Forty-three Senate Republicans signed a letter vowing to stand in unison with House GOP demands on the debt limit.
With Feinstein added to the mix, Schumer would likely need nine GOP defections.
The White House previously sidestepped questions about whether her absence was frustrating Democratic efforts on the debt limit.
“We wish the senator a speedy recovery. I don’t have anything else to share beyond that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time.
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1653461345394647043?s=20
Block Republican bills
At one point during Feinstein’s absence, Republicans teamed up with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to scrap an Environmental Protection Agency rule on smog emissions from trucks. The Senate has the power to overturn government regulations via a joint resolution and typically doesn’t get snarled by the filibuster.
The vote was 50-49, meaning that if Feinstein had been there, she could have torpedoed the effort.
“Because Sen. Feinstein was absent, Republicans are passing legislation through the Senate, undermining the right of our residents to breathe clean air,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted. “And with a far-right judiciary targeting our human rights, we are unable to confirm judges. Sen. Feinstein must step down.”
Now that she is back, it will become more difficult for Republicans and Manchin to engage in similar activity going forward.
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Feinstein is set to retire at the end of the 2024 election cycle after serving three decades in the upper chamber. She is the oldest sitting member of either chamber of Congress.
A crowded primary in California is already underway to succeed her.