Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Returns to Senate Judiciary Committee, Allowing for Advancement of Biden’s Judicial Nominees

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made her return to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, providing a much-needed Democratic vote for President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees.

Feinstein’s presence allowed the committee to advance three of Biden’s judicial nominees on party-line votes. Charnelle Bjelkengren was nominated to be a district court judge in Washington state, Kato Crews was nominated to be a district court judge in Colorado, and Marian Gaston was nominated to be a district court judge in California.

Feinstein’s return was met with applause from her colleagues, as Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) quickly moved to vote on the long-delayed nominees. Prior to Feinstein’s return, Democrats had been unable to advance nominees without some level of bipartisan support due to the panel’s split between 11 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

Feinstein, 89, had been absent from the committee since February due to a shingles diagnosis. She made her long-anticipated return to Congress on Wednesday.

The nominees will now move to the Senate floor for consideration. It is unclear when the Senate will vote on the nominees, as the chamber is currently occupied with other legislative matters.