Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) leaves the Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 20, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) warns Democrats that their party appears to be attempting to “cancel” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
Jordan made his comments during an April 17 episode of “Fox & Friends,” where he fielded questions about the ailing senator’s participation in the upper chamber of Congress.
Feinstein, 89, was diagnosed with shingles in late February and has been absent from the Senate ever since. The California senator asked Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee while she recovers from her illness in an April 12 statement. She has thus far refused to quit her position in the Senate.
Even one of Feinstein’s Democrat colleagues, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), has called for the aging politician to resign: “She hasn’t been showing up, and she has no intention. We don’t know if she is even gonna show up. She has no return date,” Khanna said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Only in Washington would you get criticized for saying something so obvious,” Khanna said. “I have a lot of respect for Senator Feinstein, but she has missed 75 percent of votes this year. She hasn’t been showing up ... we don’t know if she is going to show up. No return date.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) speaks during a news conference to discuss legislation that would temporarily halt U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 12, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
‘A Democrat Issue’
When asked to respond to those comments, Jordan said it “Sounds like the Democrats are trying to cancel Senator Feinstein.” The lawmaker recalled a time when Feinstein’s name was taken from an elementary school over something she said several decades ago.
“Now, trying to kick her out of the Senate? I understand she hasn’t been there much,” Jordan said before commenting that this is “a Democrat issue” and the fact that the party is trying to “cancel her” should be “the main takeaway for Democrats.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, attends the committee's "Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan" field hearing at Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City on April 17, 2023. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has taken a stronger stand, advising his Republican colleagues that they should support Democrats in their efforts to replace Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Republicans should not assist Democrats in confirming Joe Biden’s most radical nominees to the courts,” Cotton said in a social media post that included an article about the Feinstein predicament.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stated that she would not support a move by Senate Democrats to temporarily replace Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee, arguing that such a move would aid Democrat efforts to “pack the court with activist judges.”
“I will not go along with Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges,” Blackburn said on Twitter on Monday. “Joe Biden wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America.”
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) was among the group of Democrats who believe the senator should step down, which he said in his own Twitter post: “Sen. Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable. But I believe it’s now a dereliction of duty to remain in the Senate and a dereliction of duty for those who agree to remain quiet.”
In Feinstein’s absence, the Judiciary Committee is deadlocked, keeping any of President Joe Biden’s appointments for federal judges and other committee action from moving forward.
