Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Republicans would block an effort by Democrats to temporarily replace California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee as she recovers from shingles at home.
McConnell said the bulk of President Biden’s judicial nominees have bipartisan support, but replacing Feinstein would allow Democrats to approve nominees he labeled “unqualified.”
“So let’s be clear: Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporary absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees,” McConnell said Tuesday, while also calling Feinstein “a dear friend,” a “titanic figure,” and a “stateswoman.”
Feinstein, 89, has not voted since February, and says she needs more time to recuperate. Democrats have raised concerns that without her vote, Biden’s nominees are stalled in committee. California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna called on Feinstein to resign last week, telling NPR she was an “absentee” senator. Another House Democrat, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, agreed.
In response, Feinstein released a statement saying her recovery was taking longer than she anticipated, and she requested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer replace her on the Judiciary panel until she can return for votes in Washington — a request McConnell said was “extremely unusual.”