BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

Dianne Feinstein En Route to Washington, D.C. After Three-Month Absence

Democrats have criticized her for placing the Senate Judiciary Committee in a stalemate due to her absence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will be back on the Senate floor on Wednesday to cast her first vote since Feb. 16, after taking a nearly three-month absence due to health issues caused by the shingles virus. Sources close to the senator and a spokesperson for Feinstein confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle that she hopped on a private jet from California to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday and could make her return to the Senate as early as the evening. Feinstein, who missed 91 votes since falling ill, has taken a lot of flak from her Democratic colleagues for leaving the Judiciary Committee in a 10-10 deadlock, complicating judicial confirmations. Progressives recently intensified calls for Feinstein to retire or resign, and in April, Republicans shut down an effort to temporarily replace her spot on the committee with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). Last week, Feinstein issued a statement denying the Senate had suffered any ill effects from her absence and said there was “no slowdown” in nominations. “I’m confident that when I return to the Senate, we will be able to move the remaining qualified nominees out of committee quickly and to the Senate Floor for a vote,” she said in the statement.