“The real question is whether I am still an effective representative for the 40 million Californians and the record shows that I am,” Feinstein said in a statement. “I remain committed to doing what I said when I was re-elected in 2018: fighting for the Californians, especially for the economy and the key issues for California of water and fire. “While I have focused for much of last year on my husband’s health and eventual death, I remained committed to achieving results and would set my record against anyone,” Feinstein added. Feinstein’s husband, Richard Blum, died of cancer earlier this year. Feinstein’s statement came after the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday reported four senators, three of whom are Democrats, as well as three former Feinstein officials and a California House Democrat, who expressed concern that Feinstein’s memory deteriorated and questioned whether he could still do so. work without significant staff assistance. Feinstein regularly has an employee with her as she goes to and from the Senate vote in the Capitol. This is not the first report to question Feinstein’s mental resilience, and the senator has repelled similar stories in the past through interviews or written statements. Politico reported in 2020 that Democrats were privately concerned that Feinstein, then a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, could not manage the Democratic leadership committee on Amy Connie Barrett’s candidacy for the Supreme Court. Feinstein then sparked a storm among progressives when she hugged then-Justice Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) at the end of the hearing and thanked him for the way he conducted the multi-day hearing. Feinstein finally announced that she would not seek to chair the committee if the Democrats won the majority or the member of the ranking if they were still in the minority. It was an important move for a parliamentary group that still relies heavily on antiquity for the plum committee posts. Sources also expressed concern about Feinstein’s short-term memory in The New Yorker in a story published in December 2020. Feinstein, 88, is the oldest member of Congress. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is about three months younger than Feinstein and is running for re-election for another six-year term in November. If the Democrats retain a majority in the Senate next year, Feinstein is in line to run for the Senate’s time, a position that would put her third in line for the presidency. Both Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Defended Feinstein in the Chronicle. Some of her supporters also criticized stories that questioned her ability to serve in the Senate, noting that Congress had a number of older male lawmakers. Feinstein won the re-election in 2018, where the main opponents raised her age as an issue. There has since been public pressure for Feinstein to step down. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he would be called a black woman in office if Feinstein retired. And former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), While noting that the decision depends on Feinstein, told the Los Angeles Times in 2021 that if Feinstein asked her for advice, Boxer, now 81, would tell her he was “He had very productive years away from the Senate doing good things. So put it in the equation. ” Feinstein, in an interview with the Chronicle’s editorial board following the publication of her story, said she planned to stay for the entire six-year term, which would run through the first days of 2025. Feinstein took a similar oath last year following his comments. Newsom. Feinstein has had an amazing career both in the California political scene, where she has been involved for decades, and in the Senate. She was the first female chair of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and continued to serve as mayor. She and Boxer were the first female senators from California and were the first female chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Feinstein, in her post-Chronicle statement this week, outlined her legislative background. How could the debate about trans women in sports affect the media? Russia uses long-range bombers in Mariupol, Ukraine says “In recent months, I have successfully led to the re-enactment of the bipartisan law on violence against women, secured more direct government funding for my state than any other Democratic senator other than the chairman of the Credit Committee, and secured additional funding to maintain “Help California prepare for the coming fires.” She also told the Chronicle editorial board – which called on her to resign if she was mentally incompetent in an article published on Thursday – that no one had expressed immediate concerns. “No, that discussion did not take place,” Feinstein said. “The real debate is whether I am an effective representative for 40 million people.”
