Key takeaways:
- The death of Senator Dianne Feinstein has left a vacancy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, leaving it split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
- Top Republican senators have indicated they are prepared to fight over her seat, potentially using the vacancy to play hardball with Biden’s judicial nominees.
- Feinstein was a member of the Senate for nearly 30 years and was a strong advocate for civil rights, making her death a major loss for the Senate and the nation.
The death of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has left a vacancy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a key panel that processes judicial nominees for President Joe Biden. The vacancy leaves the committee split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, 10 to 10.
Top Republican senators have said they will not try to prevent Democrats from replacing Feinstein on the committee, but they have also indicated they are prepared to fight over her seat. This could lead to a situation where Republicans use the vacancy to play hardball when it comes to Biden’s judicial nominees.
Democrats will need to appoint a successor to Feinstein’s Senate seat in order to fill her spot on the Judiciary Committee. Without a majority on the committee, Democrats would need at least some Republican support to send any potential judges to the full Senate.
Feinstein was a member of the Senate for nearly 30 years and was the first woman to serve as chair of the Judiciary Committee. She was a strong advocate for civil rights and was a key figure in the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Her death is a major loss for the Senate and the nation.
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