Concern grows for ailing Dem Senator Dianne Feinstein

Senator Dianne Feinstein sparked confusion during her first appearance in the Senate in close to three months by claiming she has been there the whole time. 

'No, I've been here. I've been voting,' the 89-year-old told reporters on Tuesday when they asked how she was feeling and what her colleagues thought of her return. 'Please. You either know or don't know,' she confusingly added. 

The California senator has been on an extended absence following a case of shingles. She returned last week in a wheelchair and said in a statement she's on doctor's orders to work a lighter schedule. 

Her appearance sparked calls for her to resign - with Tuesday's bizarre claim to Slate magazine likely to lead to further calls for the senior senator to bow out.  

Feinstein showed up twice to vote and has attended committee hearings since she returned last week, but last Wednesday was the first time she had been at the U.S. Capitol since she left in February. 

When asked by a Slate reporter how she was feeling, the senator responded: 'Oh, I'm feeling fine. I have a problem with the leg.' 

The frail lawmaker has been using a wheelchair since reappearing. 

Feinstein was then asked by another reporter about what the response had been from her colleagues since her return and gave an odd answer. 

'No, I haven't been gone,' she said. 'You should follow the — I haven't been gone. I've been working.'

The reporter asked if she meant that she had been working from home.

'No, I've been here. I've been voting,' she snapped back. 'Please. You either know or don't know.'

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's Democrat Senator John Fetterman sparked similar concerns Tuesday over his stumbling speech at a hearing about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. He suffered a stroke while campaigning last year, but was still elected to office.  

Last month, Feinstein requested to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee.

Now, there is more concern for Feinstein, whose physical and mental capacity has deteriorated in recent years, after she appeared to forget that she had been absent the past two and a half months. 

When Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal was asked if there was optimism that Feinstein could return to being a fully functioning, contributing member of the committee like her old self.

'There's one job that no one else can do for us, which is to vote,' Blumenthal said. 'And she's been doing that job in the last few days, and so far as I can tell, she's been doing well.'

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, however, said: 'I'm gonna leave that to the medics.'

Feinstein arrived at the Senate on Wednesday after flying in from California - where she was recovering in her San Francisco home - to Washington D.C.

'Even though I've made significant progress and was able to return to Washington, I'm still experiencing some side-effects from the shingles virus. My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate,' she said in a statement.

She then made her return to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, arriving nearly 90 minutes late and after some judicial nominees had already been voted on.

She received a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats alike on the panel when she joined them after being gone due to health issues.

Side-effects include lingering pain known as postherpetic neuralgia, painful eye infections that may result in vision loss, facial paralysis, or problems with hearing or balance, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

Feinstein arrived in time to vote for the advancement of three of President Joe Biden's nominees. She has faced fire from members of her own party for her prolonged absence in the Senate, which held up confirmation of some judges.

Meanwhile, Feinstein has said she won't run for re-election in 2024.

The race to replace her is already competitive with several Democrats running to fill a Senate seat that hasn't been vacant for 30 years, including Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter.

There are concerns that if Feinstein did resign, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom - who has to name someone to fill out her term - could upend the race to replace her by appointing someone already running for the seat.

He has said he would appoint a black woman to the job. Rep. Lee is black.

And Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who has led the latest round of calls for Feinstein's resignation, has endorsed Lee in the primary to replace Feinstein.

California has a jungle primary, meaning the top two winners, regardless of party, move forward to the general election. That means the heavily-Democratic state could see two Democrats running in the November 2024 election.