Dianne Feinstein is 90 years old and in seriously ill health. She had to take months off, away from the Senate, to recover from shingles. When she came back, she looked and acted noticeably unwell and senile. The thing is, if she was a powerful senator from a swing state, I would understand Feinstein’s need to keep both hands on her Senate seat. But she’s from California! There are literally four generations of Democrats waiting to take her seat. Well, Feinstein will retire next year – she’s not running for reelection, so there’s that. Still, there’s a lot of talk about how she needs to resign right now, given her inability to effectively work as a senator. What’s even worse is that Senator Feinstein has now given power of attorney to her daughter. Good lord.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has relinquished power of attorney to her daughter — even as she continues to serve in Congress at the age of 90, according to a report. The Democratic senator — who is the oldest member of Congress — has faced calls to resign after health complications kept her away from the Capitol for months earlier this year. Since returning to Washington DC, she has appeared frail and has had a number of public mental lapses.
Feinstein handed over power of attorney to her daughter, 66-year-old Katherine Feinstein, in part to help handle legal battles over her late husband Richard Blum’s estate, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In one dispute, Katherine, Feinstein’s only child, is at odds with Blum’s three daughters over the ownership of a luxury beach house owned by Feinstein, according to the paper. In a separate lawsuit, the two families are feuding over Blum’s life insurance, which Feinstein claims she needs to cover her increasing medical costs, The Times reported.
Feinstein, who has represented California for over 30 years, announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election in 2024. Several longtime colleagues have leaked to the press that her mental acuity has significantly declined.
I understand the legal reasons for a 90-year-old woman to hand power of attorney to her daughter to deal with various estate and lawsuit issues… but it’s plainly absurd for this to happen while Feinstein is still a sitting senator. This isn’t a case of whataboutism – cold and clammy Mitch McConnell should also resign, because he is also clearly unwell and unable to do his job. It’s just that I’m personally glad that the Republicans have someone senile in the job of minority leader. So, I’ve come around on this – Feinstein really does need to go. Gov. Newsom should be able to appoint someone in the interim, between now and the 2024 election.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat of California) at the Senate as she is helped from a wheelchair for a Senate Committee on the Judiciary business meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building Featuring: Senator Dianne Feinstein Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: Rod Lamkey/CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat of California) at the Senate as she is helped from a wheelchair for a Senate Committee on the Judiciary business meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building Featuring: Senator Dianne Feinstein Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 May 2023 Credit: Rod Lamkey/CNP/startraksphoto.com
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- US Senate Committee on the Judiciary meeting on Capitol Hill. Featuring: Dianne Feinstein Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 18 May 2023 Credit: Julia Nikhinson/CNP/startraksphoto.com
If she’s given power of attorney to her daughter, it means she’s unable to handle her own affairs. Why isn’t she resigning now?
You give a PoA to empower a representative to handle a matter on your behalf, such as estate disputes in California when you are in DC. There is no imputation of incompetence associated with a PoA. If Feinstein was judged incompetent the PoA would be invalid. It’s very difficult to get these people to leave other than by the ballot box—that’s why it’s important to V-O-T-E.
For all that I think Feinstein should not have run for re-election in 2018, this particular use of POA doesn’t bother me much…this sounds like a potentially time consuming legal fight and she has an adult child who is apparently willing/able to step up and handle parts of it for her. Feinstein doesn’t have a spouse to handle this kind of stuff, so it makes some sense for the task to fall to her daughter.
Fenstein is too old. This isn’t debatable. Which is why this is even news. If she was of sound mind and body and of an appropriate age to be governing a populace, no one would bat an eye at this decision.
As it stands, this woman is unwell and just old. She cannot handle her affairs in another state let alone the affairs in her own state.
There is a reason this is being reported, and it’s not because we care about the state of her late husband’s affairs.
Not from the US, but I gave PoA to my father to handle certain legal things while I lived abroad. I was in my mid 20s and absolutly sane 🙂 It was just easier than handling that stuff from different continent.
I second the information: Power of Attorney does not mean you are incapable.
You do this –BEFORE– you become incapable, ie, are not longer able to give someone else PoA on your behalf anymore.
My mom just did that for me, she is fit as a fiddle (only 63)- it is preemptive care.
Exactly, tired of people opining on this when they don’t know what they’re talking about. I have POA from my 87 yr old Mom, who is of sound mind & body.
Adding my two cents for getting this taken care of BEFORE anything goes wrong, and to also to have an attorney review the language every few years and update it if necessary. If you try and start this process while someone is declining or already impaired it will be close to impossible.
My parents did POA’s years and years before they became ill and thought they were covered. Then my father passed away while my mom’s dementia progression left her incapable of caring for herself. None of the financial institutions would honor the POA for my mom because the language was not specific enough. I couldn’t pay any of her bills, and since she was my dad’s heir I couldn’t act to settle his estate. It was a legal and financial nightmare and extra stress at a time when I was barely holding it together.
The difference is when the poa is enacted and the poa listed is given the power to act on the person’s behalf
It still doesn’t dispute the fact that she should resign now.
The piece you’re missing is that if she resigns, the Republicans are able to block a Democrat replacement on the Judiciary committee. The resulting Republican majority on the Judiciary committee means that Biden wouldn’t get a a single judge approved for the rest of his term.
Gah. Wasn’t fast enough to edit. Feinstein off the Judiciary committee would leave Democrats tied with Republicans on the committee, so no Biden nominees would advance to the floor for a full vote.
Term limits for all, including the Supreme Court.
Agreed.
While term limits arguably might make sense for the appointed seats on the Supreme Court, what’s the argument for having term limits with these elected positions? The elected terms are either 2 or 6 years. Why not just vote them out?
Because the whole system is too tied with whom can bring the more funds and the older and longer you’ve been around, the more funding you bring. It’s even worst since Citizens United. Which other democracy has about half of their governing body older than what is usually considered retirement age?
It’s just my opinion but I don’t believe that anyone should hold an elected position for 20+ years. Hell, there’s senators that have held their seats for 40+ years, how does that benefit anyone other than themselves, through the power, influence and wealth that they accumulate?
Yet another problem is that access to political power in the US is linked primarily to the ability to fundraise. That’s likely not the best way to get and support a cast of stellar, public servants committed to serving everyone — not just the folks with cash who pull their strings.
I still have grave reservations about term limits — both because I’d hate to lose the wonderful people when the awful ones can just be voted out, and because term limits, like the legacy admits / affirmative action battles seem poised to negatively impact members of minority groups and women just as our gains over the past 40 years or so might start to become more solidified. If term limits are implemented, I wonder what we’ll be left with — particular when the Republicans have spent decades building entities like the Heritage foundation, while the Independents and the Democrats seem less organized in terms of building a deep bench with excellent options across multiple factors including age. I’d love to be proven wrong about this though.
@Blithe: I agree with you on this issue just for the very reasons you mentioned. I could also add that since the “1%” or “defund” Wall Street protests (I forget what it was called) which gave rise to Bernie Sanders’ popularity (pls don’t @ me, that’s meant as a neutral statement), a lot of Democrats have stopped taking money from corporations and big businesses, who usually have a lot of disposable income. Now, they appear to fund their campaigns in large part from individual donations from “regular people” who have far less money to donate. So, I’m sure that doesn’t provide enough money to be truly competitive, especially in tight races.
“just vote them out” doesn’t work well because there are a lot of voters who aren’t well informed and will just vote for the incumbent if they are undecided or if things are going okay. Also, if you live in CA and your options are to vote for Feinstein or a young Republican, who are you going to choose? I would vote for even a certifiably senile Feinstein! Obviously someone needs to get her out in the primaries BUT, CA does not have party primaries for Senate–it’s just top two finishers. In 2018 there were multiple Democrats running to replace Feinstein in the primaries (and one of them then went on to be her opponent in the general election), but Feinstein had all the name recognition, endorsements, etc. The whole party leadership would have basically had to have turned on her and endorsed a single replacement candidate, which would be pretty much unprecedented.
@Cate, thinking of the not well-informed voters is one of the things that troubles me about term limits. I’m guessing that even more voters will either vote a party line, abstain from voting altogether, or vote for the person that looks like someone they’d like to have a beer with — because they won’t have even name recognition, let alone some sense of the candidates and their political histories to use as a basis for voting. I can’t imagine that having slates with more unfamiliar names will induce people to do more homework before they vote.
I can imagine it becoming even more common for people with reality show and other entertainment backgrounds to win offices based on name recognition — vs politicians who’ve held local offices, then state level offices, as they work their way up to national positions. Again, I hope I’m wrong.
Hear, hear!
If she resigns, her seat on the judiciary committee is gone, so no more judges will be appointed by Biden this term. Mitch will never agree to playing nice about a new Democrat being put on that committee to replace Feinstein.
We need every judge we can get appointed these days.
this is exactly why she has to hang on. what needs to change is someone able to prevent a replacement on a committee. That just shouldn’t be a thing.
If she’s not around and too sick to do anything, then the committee is not functional so that doesn’t work either. She’s also unable to represent the citizens of California which is her job. All these 80-something folks need to pass the baton to people that’ll actually live with the decisions voted
We’ve gotten new judges appointed since Diane’s return to Congress. There was a noteworthy Asian Pacific Islander judge just voted in. The Supreme Court looks healthy-ish but if one of them died, we absolutely need a candidate who could get out of committee.
Justice Katanji has been nothing short of stellar, Biden’s judicial appointments should continue, the country needs it.
This exactly.
McConnell & Co. blocked a resolution to temporarily replace Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee while she was recovering from shingles.
Her colleagues have to tell her who she should vote for. How is this right?
We have to deal with Senate rules. There’s so much wrong with the Senate that we could be here all week talking about what isn’t right. You need a filibuster-proof coalition to ‘make it right’ about any rule and we don’t have it.
Thank you for pointing this out. This poor woman is hanging by a shred trying to help Biden bring some balance to the massive number of right wing yahoos McConnell jammed through. She’s a damn hero to me. People should point their ire at the Republicans who’ve forced her into this position of being the Rocking Horse Winner to keep them from continuing to destroy our democracy through the judiciary.
When I’ve seen her put on public display in her infirmity and illness, I’ve often wondered “where is this woman’s family and why is no one taking care of her and preventing her from exposing herself in a way that most of us would not want for ourselves or loved ones?”
Now I understand: her family is busy suing each other over inheritance and real estate. Charming!
Unless they go through the legal process of having her declared incompetent, her family can’t force her to do anything. I empathize with her daughter who recently lost her father and is now dealing with issues related to that as well as her mother’s dementia. And Feinstein’s mental issues were obvious even before her shingles complications. Of course, it’s all just getting worse.
Feinstein’s late husband was her daughter’s stepfather. They married when she was an adult.
But my point stands. She now has this mess to deal with.
Does she lose her health insurance and income if she resigns. That might be why she’s holding on. I do think she should stay if it’s the only thing allowing Biden to continue to appoint judges, but FFS these people need to retire and let others take over. She should have retired 20-30 years ago!
Feinstein is incredibly wealthy. Her salary is chump change compared to her inherited wealth alone. That is not the issue here.
I am 99% sure these people have benefits for the rest of their lives. Not to mention wealth.
As the responses to your question about health insurance have indicated, DF’s health insurance is very secure. She’s a law maker, and these people write the laws about their own entitlements, so they’re okay.
It’s like they write laws relaxing gun laws everywhere but make sure that non-security people can’t enter either the Senate or the House of Representatives with concealed weapons. And for some reason Republicans are absolutely A-ok with that particular exception to their guns-for-everyone policies. So, they take care of themselves.
It is not unusual to give someone power of attorney to handle healthcare decisions and business decisions. The POA can be limited in scope. It’s not like her daughter is going to be sitting in for her in the Senate. That being said, it is also time for her to pack it up. Let the governor appoint someone that is up to the task to take her seat.
It’s a complex and difficult task to receive decision making power over the elderly and infirm, and it should be, but this entire debacle is why we should have term limits. As a deeply progressive person, I admittedly surround myself with a lot of deeply progressive people, and some people want to avoid this conversation about Feinstein because of how terrifying the current conservative political climate is – but the facts remain the same, this is someone who, by definition, isn’t able to make choices for herself and she shouldn’t be making choices for anyone else. This isn’t the kind of precedent that we want repeated for anyone. We don’t even have to have the debate about the problems that arise in a gerontocracy, because we’re not discussing a 90 year old person who IS of able mind, we’re talking about some who we already know categorically isn’t.
I was just arguing with someone about McConnell the other day. They told me that the only reason I wanted him gone was because he was a Republican and then had no response when I said that Feinstein should be gone, as well. (In an ideal world, where we don’t need judges. I might have left that part out that day.)
So, at least we’ve got another five months of easily shutting down right-wing victim fantasies?
(I’m trying to find the bright(ish) side of things. It’s going rather poorly, but I’m clinging to every little thing I can.)
The Mitch situation is actually the crux of this whole thing — now that the R’s also have a vulnerable person who needs to retire, maybe they will play ball and agree that each party can appoint an interim. Before Mitch’s freeze frame, there was no way the R’s would allow a replacement be named for Dianne and that was a no-go for Dems for so many reasons. Now? Maybe we can all come to an agreement that these 2 need to be replaced stat.
Mitch recovered quickly and returned to discussions. He’s holding on to his power with every fiber of his being. There are so many power crazed Senate Republicans that I doubt there’s a window for cooperation.
Next year’s Senate races look ROUGH for Democrats to keep their slim majority, it’s going to be a real fight.
With Mitch it’s not about the national party. Kentucky has a Democrat governor – he has the authority to appoint an interim senator if Mitch steps down and it’s not likely that will be a Republican.
I’m sad to report Mitch has already planned for any accidental death. KY voted to force a republican replacement be appointed, even if it is a Dem. governor. Happened a couple health events back in time.
Appointment of an interim representative or senator is subject to state law. Mitch rammed through a law in Kentucky stating that the party of the departing member of Congress gets to pick the replacement. It doesn’t matter who is governor. If Mitch goes, the Kentucky GOP gets to name his replacement. He’s just hanging on out of spite.
Ah, thank you all. I had read a recent piece by a Democrat pollster who was making the argument about the Democrat governor. Looks like wasn’t up to date.
It’s sad to see her decline. I remember when she was mayor of San Francisco she was one of the few woman politicians who had a national profile. That meant something to me as a girl trying to find female role models and understand how to achieve in a patriarchal society. I understand why she can’t resign now due to the committee issue, but she should have foreseen this and not run in the last election.
MANY people on the left urged her not to run in the previous election and were called sexist or mean. (Similar to the folks who tried to get RBJ to retire in ’08). As we’re about to see a wave of boomers who are going to need a little extra push retiring I think as a culture we need to get over the idea that staying in a job until you humiliate yourself or fall over dead is GirL POwER somehow. It’s macabre, and it also is directly responsible for the loss of reproductive freedom in the US.
@Caroline I totally agree. Her stubbornness mirrors RBG’s, and that was a trait that served them well for many years and took them to the heights they reached, but the problem is inability to realize when it’s OK to step back and let the next generation take the lead, and for sure when you’re facing the debilitations of old age and/or illness.
Two words: Term Limits
I’m feeling like this is a kind of elder abuse – keeping these people in office “for the good of the party.”
She’s the one who wanted to stay in office. During her last election the California Democratic party did not endorse her. Her still being in office is on the voters.
Yes, I know, and I’m not only talking about Dianne. But sometimes, for everybody’s safety, you have to take away the keys to the car.
And again – this is why she CAN’T go: If she steps down – regardless of who Newsom appoints the GOP has control of the committee Feinstein is on. And they will NOT appoint another Dem. They have said so. Many times. Which means Biden’s Judicial appointees will be stalled. And that can mean disastrous things for abortion rights, voting rights, etc. There are very valid and important reasons WHY she hasn’t stepped down.
I don’t know why people don’t understand this, Ameerah. Instead of bashing the woman for overstaying, people need to understand her hands are tied by the Republicans. If they weren’t so despicable, they would allow the normal business of the Senate to occur, but they aren’t, so here we are. Prayers up to Sen. Feinstein.
As for a POA, I (52) have one with my mother and vice versa. It’s the smart thing to do to have your affairs in order.
I have one for my mother as well. And I think I will put one on place for myself and give it to my brother. A PofA is about a lot more than just “this person is old and senile”. It protects their interests and the family’s interests.
Her hands aren’t being tied by the Republicans any more than Mitch McConnell’s are being tied by the Democrats. The issue is that neither party has done a good job of developing younger political talent, plus the desire to retain power and money keeps the old guard in for much longer than they should be.
Stalled like they were when she was… checks notes…. out of over a MONTH with brain swelling? I hate how all the blame is with Republicans and not the Senator who choose to run again, knowing she was in serious cognitive decline, who’s now surprised that the Republicans are playing to win. Imagine what a left-leaning party might accomplish if they put ideology over self, recognized that the best thing for abortion rights would be to step down years ago so that when dems had full control of congress they could stack committees as they saw fit. Imagine if Diane cared about one single issue as much as she cared about herself and her own ego!!!!
it’s like the RBG enabling/white wash all over again and it kills me. If she’s an adult who can do the job, than she should be held accountable for the myopic choices she’s made regarding her own retirement! Pregnant people all over the country are paying for those choices, but somehow it shouldn’t be a part of either woman’s legacy? F that.
This isn’t like deciding when to take your dad’s keys away. It’s not the same as having POW for your mom, unless your mom is a senior Senator who doesn’t know what day it is. Personalizing it minimizes the very real harm she’s doing and completely erases all of the serious, earnest dems who have been trying to blow the whistle on her selfish choices for years.
Do people not realize that if she resigns, the GOP will block Dems from seating another Dem on the Judiciary Committee? That means no more judges confirmed, no more subpoenas; the committee in total gridlock. This is an awful, sad situation, I’m sure she’d prefer to resign. I lived in SF for 25 yrs. I have so much admiration & respect for her. Please leave her alone.
Honestly, I think most people genuinely don’t realize this — in part because many news and “news” sources that emphasize Feinstein’s infirmities don’t openly make that point. It is a sad situation. I admire her tenacity — even as I wish that there were a healthier and kinder solution to this morass. Well, there are healthier and kinder solutions, but the Republicans in this current Congress don’t seem to prioritize tenable, humane resolutions.
Thank you for bringing this up. I don’t think a lot of people know this.
It’s not just term limits we need, but health requirements, especially brain dysfunctions. I wonder how many ‘Nancy Reagans’ are running D.C. right now.
This is still pretty sugar-coated. The “complication” she went through after her shingles was encephalitis, which is very serious, and obviously impacts cognition.
Literally YEARS before she was managing her secret brain swelling, Chuck Schumer sat her down for a heart to heart wherein he laid out the the concerns that many in the party and her own staff had about her ability to do the job. Apparently, she wouldn’t agree to step down but said she would think about not running again. A day or so later, they had to have the exact same conversation again because she had absolutely no memory of their first talk (this was reported in Politico or The Hill, sometime in the early pandemic). A year or so before that, one of her junior staffers was let go after attempting to blow the whistle on a lot of shit going down in her office including the fact that she was clearly not in charge and her Chief of Staff was making most decisions for her (check Dear White Staffers on insta or google Jamarcus Purley).
More recently, when her office announced that she wasn’t running again, she was on camera, and clearly had no idea what was going on around her.
She’s putting her ego before her constituents; and as one of those constituents, I think she should be expelled from the Senate immediately. I have absolutely no sympathy and certainly no respect left for her or her legacy. There’s zero risk of her seat going to a Republican and every day she was out with shingles was a literal gift to rightwing, anti-choice nut-jobs in this country. If you believe that abortion rights should be protected, there’s no question here, she has to go.
As for Mitch McConnell… why do I care if Republicans want to let him shit himself and die in a national press conference? Certainly I can think of more appropriate (read, violent) ends but ya know, not my circus, not my clowns or whatever.
Politico and The Hill are right wing mouthpieces so nope to anything the say. Especially The Hill. And as others have said, it’s about the judicial appointments, not just her seat in the Senate. Lifetime judicial appointments I might add. Funny you mention abortion rights being protected, we certainly need judges who can do this.
Not me defending The Hill, lol, nevertheless…. The Hill was founded by a NYT journalist (Martin Tolchin) and a literal democratic party operative (Jerry Finkelstein). Tolchin’s son is the current owner. Tolchin (the dad) also founded Politico with a banker and some other journalists (this time from the Washington Post), but it’s now owned by a German publisher who’s coverage has been described as “left leaning or moderate.”
The piece I’m thinking of clearly had sources (senior staff most likely) from both Chuck and Diane’s offices. Not rightwing plants so much as staffers trying to blow the whistle on a dangerous situation. My partner works for congress and, trust me, it’s been bad for awhile, people have known for awhile and no one with any power has bothered to do anything meaningful about the situation.
100%, without question, the Republicans are only able to hold Dems hostage on this because Diane was too proud to step aside six years ago. If she’s lucid enough to do the job, then she’s lucid enough to be held accountable for allowing it to come to this.
I am so tired of all these old, rich people leading the country. I like Biden but he is too old; he should be enjoying his family and fishing every day at this point in his life. I will vote for him of course but we need some leaders who are actually in touch with current issues, current technologies, current state of affairs as they exist on the ground for the average person.
I didn’t think Buttigieg was ready to be president last cycle but something he said when he was on The Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert while he was campaigning during the last presidential election really resonated with me.
Stephen asked him why run now, why doesn’t he wait until he has more salt and pepper in his hair. Buttigieg’s answer:
‘I don’t think you do this because you want to do it some day. I think you run for any office because you think the needs of the office meet the moment and what you bring to the table. And in many ways, I think being from a younger generation, it’s one of the main reasons to do this. I belong to the school shooting generation. I was in high school when Columbine happened. We’re the generation that provided most of the troops for the conflicts that happened after 9/11, we’re the generation that’s going to be on the business end of climate change and, if nothing changes economically, we’ll be the first generation ever to make less than our parents. So I believe that no one has more at stake right now than younger people coming up. I think a lot about the way the world is going to look in 2054 when I reach the current age of the president. Why not have somebody in there who actually views the condition of the country in that year as a personal issue, not somebody else’s problem.’
We need to get younger leaders into office. This goes for both sides.
I agree totally, when need Millennial leaders because of course we do.
except LOL Buttigieg…
a.) it’s funny cause Pete couldn’t be less popular with his own generation (the only Millennials I know who stan Pete are republicans)
b.) also hilarious because Pete has been preparing to run for president since high school. His whole adult life the presidency has quite literally been “something he wanted to do someday.”
c.) finally, lmao cause his presidential campaign was a textbook example of running for a cabinet seat.
But I agree, DC needs a boomer purge, stat.
Not only term limits should be enforced, but there should be an age limit for all seats of government including the presidency. After the age of 75, it’s time to shut it down and enjoy retirement.
The Senate Chamber will be the tomb for Feinstein and McConnell, it seems. It makes me so furious!
I have voted for Feinstein in every race for her Senate seat, since I became of age to vote. She has done great work throughout her 30 years. But it’s time for her, and every other congressperson over age 70 at minimum, to GTFO.
In CA the POA is for her business dealings.
If she were to turn over all of her estate handling that would be making her daughter the Trustee which comes with much more financial and personal responsibility as far as the Senators financial, medical and living arrangements.
Although I’m sure a trust is established (again the best way to go in CA with taxes, etc) the Trustee hasn’t been sprung into action yet.
Having just gone through this process I can tell you that it is absolutely A PROCESS.
I can’t imagine with the Blum holdings, step children heirs, failing health, living on 2 coasts, an incredibly demanding career and colleague’s dropping the dime on her mental health status why she would seem frazzled.
To everyone asking why she ran in 2018, please look up the absolute loser that tried to primary her. There was literally NO CHOICE.