Dianne Feinstein’s prolonged absence due to illness has made it harder for Senate Democrats to advance their agenda, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The 89-year-old Democrat from California has missed 58 votes as of Monday since being hospitalized with shingles about six weeks ago, the report said. Feinstein in a statement obtained by The Chronicle confirmed that she was diagnosed with shingles in late February.
Shingles is considered a non-life-threatening illness usually contracted by older people.
She is not the only Senate Democrat who has been sidelined by illness in recent months. John Fetterman (D-PA) has been receiving inpatient treatment for depression since mid-February.
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Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also been absent from the senate after suffering a concussion and rib fracture in a fall last month at a Washington D.C. hotel during a private dinner. He was recently released from the hospital.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in an interview with CNN acknowledged that Feinstein’s absence has halted the process of confirming judges appointed by President Joe Biden.
“I can’t consider nominees in these circumstances because a tie vote is a losing vote in committee,” Durbin said.
Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and announced earlier this year that she does not plan to seek reelection.
