参议员黛安娜·范斯坦要求暂时取代司法委员会，因为她从带状疱疹中恢复参议院民主党人周四开始努力打破几周来阻碍关键司法提名的僵局。
多数党领袖查克·舒默的发言人表示，他将在下周要求参议院允许另一名民主党参议员暂时填补她在这个备受瞩目的委员会中的位置，民主党在该委员会中仅占一个席位的多数。
众议员罗·卡纳(Ro Khanna)与范斯坦一样是加利福尼亚州的民主党人，他是第一个公开呼吁范斯坦下台的人，周四早上他质疑道，“为什么[她]不采取措施辞职，而不是通过所有这些动议?”
“对我们许多在加州的人来说，这已经变得非常明显，她已经无法履行她的职责，因为她没有一个明确的回归日期，”他说说在CNN上。“在妇女权利和投票权受到攻击的时候，我们还不能确认法官。司法部主席、参议员德宾本人曾表示，我们无法调动这些法官的原因是因为参议员范斯坦不在那里。”
本周早些时候，美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的马努·拉朱(Manu Raju)问及，范斯坦的缺席是否会对民主党确认政治上重要的法官的能力产生更长的影响，司法委员会主席迪克·德宾(sen . Bernstein)说说，“是的，当然有。”
“所以作为一个来自加州的人，我觉得有义务说出这么多同事私下里说的话，”卡纳补充道。
这位89岁的参议员自3月初被诊断患有带状疱疹并住院约一周以来，一直呆在旧金山的家中。在为期两周的休会后，她原定于下周与全体参议院一起返回——但在周三晚些时候的一份声明中，在卡纳和另一名众议院民主党人要求她辞职后，她说“由于并发症”,她将被进一步推迟。
“当我第一次被诊断出带状疱疹时，我期望在三月工作期结束时回来。不幸的是，由于与我的诊断相关的持续并发症，我返回华盛顿的时间被推迟了，”她说。
范斯坦语气强硬，没有给出预期的回归日期，但表示她打算“尽快”
“我知道我的缺席可能会推迟司法委员会的重要工作，所以我已经要求舒默领袖要求参议院允许另一名民主党参议员暂时任职，直到我能够恢复我的委员会工作，”她说。
范斯坦错过了本届国会82票中的60票。其中14票是针对总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)的司法提名，招致了民主党人的批评，他们希望批准左倾法官获得令人垂涎的终身任命。
参议院共和党人可以投票阻止她的临时替代者，但通常情况下，反对党不会干涉其他政党的委员会任务。不过，卡纳周四表示，潜在的干预是范斯坦为民主党省去麻烦的足够理由。
“任何单一的参议员，共和党参议员，都可以反对，”卡纳谈到选择替代者时说。“舒默参议员做了正确的事情。他说他将努力在参议院完成这项工作。但我们必须看看这是否可能，我想我的问题是，为什么不采取措施辞职呢，”
周三，当他在推特上说民主党人“需要将国家置于个人忠诚之上”时，卡纳重新点燃了对费恩斯坦健康的长期担忧。
“虽然她一生都在为公众服务，但很明显她再也不能履行自己的职责了。不说出来会损害我们作为民选代表的信誉，”他说。
半小时后，明尼苏达州众议员迪恩·菲利普斯(Dean Phillips)直接回复了卡纳的推特，表示同意。
“费恩斯坦参议员是一位杰出的美国人，他对我们国家的贡献是不可估量的。但我认为，现在留在参议院是一种失职，对于那些同意保持沉默的人来说也是一种失职。
但同样居住在旧金山的前众议院议长南希·佩洛西为她的长期同事辩护，并暗示她因为是女性而受到更多批评。
“我觉得很有趣。我不知道是什么样的政治议程在以这种方式追求费恩斯坦参议员。我从未见过他们以这种方式追捕一个在参议院生病的人讲述周三的记者。
另一名加州民主党众议员约翰·加拉门迪(John Garamendi)也表示支持范斯坦。
“范斯坦应该得到我们的尊重，并有机会完成她在美国参议院的最后一个任期，”他说讲述潘趣酒新闻。
当被问及范斯坦周四的声明时，白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔说，拜登和第一夫人“祝愿范斯坦参议员一切顺利，早日康复”，他“非常感谢她对他的司法提名人的支持”。
民主党人认为，范斯坦的缺席，加上新当选的宾夕法尼亚州参议员约翰·费特曼(John Fetterman)的缺席，可能更是如此，他住院六周患有严重的抑郁症但是下周回来。共和党少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔是在家康复上个月因为严重摔伤在医院住了五天之后。目前还不清楚他什么时候会回来，但共和党的同事们说，他也渴望这样做。
由于健康问题，国会中年龄最大的议员范斯坦已经自愿放弃了关键职位。她放弃了临时主席的职位，这个职位是给多数党中最资深的成员的。2020年，在时任法官艾米·科尼·巴雷特(Amy Coney Barrett)的最高法院确认听证会上，范斯坦被认为宽大处理，这位参议员宣布，她将在2021年的新一届会议上放弃她在司法委员会的最高职位。
虽然迄今为止，这位任职时间最长的民主党参议员拒绝了中期辞职的要求，但范斯坦2月宣布她将在任期结束时退休，30年来第一次开放她的席位，并开始一场昂贵的竞争来取代她。有传言说，卡纳本人正在考虑竞选参议员席位，但他在上个月宣布参选支持投标由众议员李金浔，D-加州众议员亚当希夫和凯蒂波特也发起了运动，以取代她。
如果范斯坦在大约20个月的任期结束前辞职，加州州长加文·纽瑟姆将负责任命某人完成她的任期。纽瑟姆此前曾表示，他将提名一名黑人女性取代她，并指出参议院中缺乏代表性。
Democrats move to 'temporarily' replace Feinstein on Judiciary Committee amid calls she resign
With Sen. Dianne Feinstein requesting to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee as sherecovers from shingles, Senate Democrats on Thursday began working to break the logjam that has held up critical judicial nominations for weeks.
A spokesperson for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will ask the Senate next week to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily fill her place on the high-profile committee on which Democrats hold a mere one-seat majority.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who like Feinstein is a California Democrat, was the first to publicly call on Feinstein to step down, questioning Thursday morning, "Why [does she] not just take the step and resign instead of going through all of these motions?"
"It has become painfully obvious to many of us in California that she is no longer able to fulfill her duties as she doesn't have a clear return date," hesaidon CNN. "We haven't been able to confirm judges at a time where women's rights and voting rights are under assault. Senator Durbin himself, the chair of the Judiciary, has said that the reason we're not being able to move these judges is because Senator Feinstein isn't there."
Asked by CNN's Manu Raju earlier this week whether Feinstein's absence had longer ramifications on Democrats' ability to confirm politically-important judges, Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbinsaid, "Yes, of course it does."
Senator Dianne Feinstein speaks during the confirmation hearing for Steven Dettelbach, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) nominee for President Joe Biden, in Washington...Show moreundefined
Bloomberg via Getty Images
"And so as someone from California, I felt an obligation to say what's so many colleagues are saying in private," Khanna added.
The 89-year-old senator has been home in San Francisco since early March after she was diagnosed with shingles and hospitalized for about a week. She was due to return with the full Senate next week following its two-week recess -- but in a statement late Wednesday, after Khanna and another House Democrat called on her to resign, she said "due to complications" she would be further delayed.
"When I was first diagnosed with shingles, I expected to return by the end of the March work period. Unfortunately, my return to Washington has been delayed due to continued complications related to my diagnosis," she said.
Striking a defiant tone, Feinstein did not give an expected return date but said she intends to "as soon as possible."
"I understand that my absence could delay the important work of the Judiciary Committee, so I've asked Leader Schumer to ask the Senate to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve until I'm able to resume my committee work," she said.
Feinstein has missed 60 of 82 votes this Congress. Fourteen of those votes have been on President Joe Biden's judicial nominees, drawing criticism from Democrats who want to approve left-leaning judges for coveted lifetime appointments.
Senate Republicans could vote to block her temporary replacement, but typically, the opposition party does not meddle in committee assignments for the other party. Still, the potential for meddling is reason enough, Khanna said Thursday, for Feinstein to save Democrats the trouble.
"Any single senator, Republican senator, can object to that," Khanna said of selecting a replacement. "Sen. Schumer has done the right thing. He said he's going to try to get that done in the Senate. But we have to see if that's even possible, and I guess my question is, why not just take the step and resign."
Khanna reignited longstanding concerns surrounding Feinstein's health on Wednesday when he tweeted that Democrats "need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty."
"While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people," he said.
A half-hour later, Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., replied directly to Khanna's tweet in agreement.
"Senator Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable. But I believe it's now a dereliction of duty to remain in the Senate and a dereliction of duty for those who agree to remain quiet," he said.
But former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who also resides in San Francisco, defended her longtime colleague and suggested she sees more criticism because she's a woman.
"It's interesting to me. I don't know what political agendas are at work that are going after Senator Feinstein in that way. I've never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way," Pelositoldreporters on Wednesday.
Rep. John Garamendi, another California Democrat, also expressed support for Feinstein.
"Feinstein deserves our respect and the opportunity to complete her final term in the U.S. Senate," hetoldPunchbowl News.
Asked about Feinstein's statement on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden and the first lady "wish Senator Feinstein the very best and a speedy recovery" and that he is "deeply appreciative of her support" for his judicial nominees.
Democrats have felt Feinstein's absence perhaps even more so coupled with the absence of newly-elected Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who was hospitalized for six weekswith severe depressionbut returns next week. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isrecovering at homeafter spending five days in the hospital last month due to a bad fall. It's unclear when he will return but GOP colleagues say he's also eager to do so.
Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, has already voluntarily relinquished key positions as a result of questions about her health. She gave up her post of president pro tempore -- a position given to the most senior member of the majority party. In 2020, amid a progressive uproar after Feinstein's perceived leniency during then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the senator announced she would surrender her top post on the judiciary panel in the new session in 2021.
While the longest-serving Democratic senator has, so far, refused calls to resign mid-term, Feinsteinannounced in Februaryshe would retire at the end of her term, opening up her seat for the first time in 30 years and kicking off an expensive race to replace her. Khanna, himself, was rumored to be weighing a run for the Senate seat but announced last month he wassupporting a bidby Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have also launched campaigns to replace her.
If Feinstein were to step down before her term is up in roughly 20 months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would be tasked with appointing someone to finish out her term. Newsom has said previously that he would nominate a Black woman to replace her, noting the lack of representation in the Senate.
