'She hasn't been showing up': Rep. Ro Khanna doubles down on call for Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign

Ken Tran, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
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As Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., remains absent from the Senate due to complications from a shingles diagnosis, her Democratic colleague, Rep. Ro Khanna reiterated his calls on her 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.”

Khanna compared Feinstein’s absence and Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman’s absence from the Senate. Fetterman voluntarily checked himself into a hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression in February but is now slated to return to the Senate Monday when it returns from a two-week recess.

“It’s one thing to take medical leave and come back. It’s another thing when you’re just not doing the job,” Khanna said. “The reality here is there's this sense, ‘Well you need to have a deference to these senators who have served so long.’ How about a deference to the American people?”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a hearing Oct. 28, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a hearing Oct. 28, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

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Why is Feinstein's absence important for Senate Democrats?

Feinstein’s absence has become a roadblock for President Joe Biden’s agenda due to her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Without Feinstein, several of Biden’s judicial nominations cannot advance to the Senate floor to be confirmed without Republican support in the committee.

After calls from some House Democrats, Feinstein said she asked Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to appoint a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary Committee.

But for Schumer to do that, it would require unanimous support from the Senate – just one Republican senator could block the move. If that happens, 60 votes will be needed to appoint a replacement, meaning 10 GOP senators will have to join Senate Democrats in approving a nominee.

It remains unclear if that will be possible.

Pelosi chimes in on Feinstein: 'Never seen them go after a man who was sick'

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., leaves a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., leaves a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.

Khanna: Gov. Newsom can appoint a 'caretaker' replacement

Feinstein, 89 and California’s longest serving senator, already announced plans to retire from the Senate after her term ends in 2024. Her retirement plans have kick-started what is expected to be a fierce and bitter Democratic primary race to fill Feinstein’s seat.

If Feinstein were to resign early, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would have to appoint a successor, which could interfere with the primary race. Newsom in 2021 pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Senate if Feinstein were to resign. Critics have pointed out that Khanna co-chairs the Senate campaign of Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., – the only Black woman who has entered the primary so far.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., (C) talks to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, (R) as they board an elevator at the U.S. Capitol on February 16, 2023 in Washington, DC.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., (C) talks to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, (R) as they board an elevator at the U.S. Capitol on February 16, 2023 in Washington, DC.

But Khanna on Sunday dismissed the notion that he has an ulterior motive behind his calls on Feinstein to resign, saying Newsom could appoint a “caretaker” replacement uninvolved with the primary.

“Gov. Newsom can appoint a caretaker, he doesn't have to appoint someone in the current race,” Khanna said. “And I would support the governor doing that. This has nothing to do with the current race, because the caretaker would solve that.”

California Senate race: LA Mayor Karen Bass endorses Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. Lee filed paperwork Wednesday, Feb. 15, to enter the race for the seat held by long-serving Sen. Dianne Feinstein, adding another Democrat and a nationally recognized Black woman to a growing field that already includes two other members of Congress.

Democratic Senators say it is Feinstein's choice whether to resign

Two of Feinstein’s colleagues in the Senate have said it is ultimately Feinstein’s decision on whether she should step down before 2024.

“Look, it’s up to Dianne Feinstein and her family to decide whether she wants to keep on serving, and she’s had a remarkable record and I respect that,” said Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

New York Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that Feinstein’s situation is no different from other senators with medical issues.

“We’re human. And we believe that senators should be able to make their own judgements about when they’re retiring and when they’re not. And they all deserve a chance to get better and come back to work,” Gillibrand said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on the Family and Medical Leave Act at the U.S. Capitol on February 1, 2023 in Washington, DC.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on the Family and Medical Leave Act at the U.S. Capitol on February 1, 2023 in Washington, DC.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CA Democrat Khanna: Newsom can appoint caretaker if Feinstein resigns