Democrats 'panicking' about Dianne Feinstein’s prolonged absence: report

Fellow Democrats are growing anxious amid Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s prolonged absence as she recovers from shingles, The Mercury News reports.

Feinstein, who will turn 90 next month, was diagnosed with the illness in late February and was hospitalized in early March.

Calls for Feinstein to resign started by progressives Ro Khanna and Alexandria Ocasio-Corte have spread in recent weeks.

The New York Times’ editorial board on Friday wrote that if Feinstein “cannot fulfill her obligations to the Senate and to her constituents, she should resign and turn over her responsibilities to an appointed successor. If she is unable to reach that decision on her own, Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators should make it clear to her and the public how important it is that she do so.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday during an appearance on CNN appeared to nudge California’s senior senator, telling Jake Tapper “I hope she returns, and I hope it’s this week.”

“I want to treat Dianne Feinstein fairly, I want to be sensitive to her family situation and her personal situation,” Durbin added after Tapper noted that former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decision not to step down while Democrats controlled the Senate during the Obama administration helped Republicans secure a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court.

“And I don’t want to say that she’s going to be put under more pressure than others have been in the past. But the bottom line is that the business of the committee and of the Senate is affected by her absence.”

Feinstein issued a statement Thursday in which she downplayed the impact of her absence.

“There has been no slowdown,” Feinstein’s statement said.

“While the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced eight strong nominees during my absence, I’m disappointed that Republicans on the committee are blocking a few from moving forward. 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.”

Political analyst Dan Schnur believes Durbin’s comments reveal growing sense of urgency in Democratic Party circles over Feinstein’s prolonged absence.

“He’s all but begging her to make a decision,” Schnur told The Mercury News.

“They’re getting somewhat panicked back there. If you listen to Durbin’s interview, it’s clear that the leadership desperately wants her to step down, but just doesn’t want to say so out loud.”