
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), giving no indication when she will return to the Senate amidst calls for her to resign from office, defended her absence and claimed there has been “no slowdown” of judicial nominees while she’s slowly recovering.
“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 on Thursday.
Feinstein, who is 89-years-old and plans to retire at the end of her current term, has been absent from work since early this year as she was hospitalized with shingles.
In her absence, she has missed over 91 votes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has remained deadlocked 10-10 on many issues, splitting the committee in half between Democrats and Republicans.
However, in her statement, the Golden State Democrat touted the Judiciary Committee’s confirmations and provided a list of nominees that are in the Senate during her absence while she recovers from shingles.