Four US senators, former staffers and a current Democratic member of Congress all told The San Francisco Chronicle that California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s memory has rapidly declined in recent years, making her unfit to serve.
One Democratic member of Congress recalled a meeting with Ms Feinstein during which they had to reintroduce themselves multiple times during an hours-long interaction.
“I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone,” the member said.
Of the four senators The Chronicle interviewed, three were Democrats. Many Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with Ms Feinstein – a former mayor of San Francisco who became of the first two women senators from California in 1992 – began to express dissatisfaction with Ms Feinstein in response to her praising Senator Lindsey Graham during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
“This has been one of the best set of hearings that I’ve participated in,” she said in 2020, before hugging him. “I want to thank you for your fairness.”
Shortly thereafer, she surrendered her leadership post on the Senate Judiciary Committee, leading to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin becoming chairman. But senators say Ms Feinstein’s state deteriorated more after that moment.
“It’s bad, and it’s getting worse,” one senator said. Similarly, one former staffer said that California has had to rely increasingly on Senator Alex Padilla, whom Governor Gavin Newsom appointed to replace Senator Kamala Harris when she became vice president of the United States.
“There’s a joke on the Hill, we’ve got a great junior senator in Alex Padilla and an experienced staff in Feinstein’s office,” the staffer said.
Ms Feinstein issued a statement to the Chronicle responding to the reporting: “The last year has been extremely painful and distracting for me, flying back and forth to visit my dying husband who passed just a few weeks ago. But there’s no question I’m still serving and delivering for the people of California, and I’ll put my record up against anyone’s.”
Many Californians seem to have a negative opinion of Ms Feinstein. A survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found that 36 per cent of likely voters approved of her performance, down from 9 points a year ago. Comparatively, 39 per cent of voters approve of Mr Padilla’s performance.
