Sen. Feinstein Defends Absence from Senate, Points to GOP for Blocking Judicial Nominees

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday defended her ongoing absence from the Senate amid calls for her resignation, saying that her recovery from shingles has not slowed the pace of confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees.

In a statement released by her office, Feinstein said that there has been “no slowdown” of Biden’s judicial nominees, and instead pointed the finger at Republicans for blocking a few nominees from moving forward in the Senate judiciary committee.

“The Senate continues to swiftly confirm highly qualified individuals to the federal judiciary, including seven more judicial nominees who were confirmed this week,” Feinstein said. “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.”

Feinstein, 89, did not give an update on when she plans to return to the upper chamber. She has been absent since mid-February and faces calls from fellow Democrats to resign.

Despite Feinstein’s absence, the Senate has continued to confirm judicial nominees at a rapid pace. Since Biden took office in January, the Senate has confirmed more than 100 judicial nominees, including seven this week.