(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . CA-Sen: Pod Saves America's Jon Lovett Makes The Case For Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D) Resignation [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-11 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D. CA) I think he’s onto something here: x .@jonlovett on Dianne Feinstein: She is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges... As sad as it is to see someone who has had an incredibly storied and important career... Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She should resign. pic.twitter.com/aPPMVUJuq2 — Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) April 11, 2023 Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett said Tuesday that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) should resign, noting that her current absence from the upper chamber is preventing the Senate from confirming justices. “There’s been a lot of reporting about Dianne Feinstein no longer being fit to serve in the Senate representing the biggest state in this country. She is currently out for shingles. That is sad. That is obviously not her fault,” he said on his “Pod Save America” podcast. Lovett, a former speechwriter for former President Obama, noted that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has referenced the challenge her absence poses. “But because she is not in the Judiciary Committee, Durbin has said that it has made it basically impossible to move a lot of these lower court nominees to the Senate for a vote, which means that Dianne Feinstein, who should not be in the Senate, is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges,” Lovett said. “I think what the people around Dianne Feinstein are doing, allowing, being part of this farce of having a lack of a senator in such an important job is really wrong,” Lovett continued. “And Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She has to resign and more people should be calling on her to resign.” Here’s some more context: At what is clearly a critical time for confirming good federal judges, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) increasingly prolonged absence from the Senate is apparently holding up the process for a number of President Joe Biden’s judicial picks this year. Feinstein, who was hospitalized in early March for shingles and has remained in her San Francisco home since March 7, has missed 60 votes of the 82 taken in the Senate in 2023, per the San Francisco Chronicle. And as the Senate, which has been on recess since March 31, prepares to return on April 17, Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Monday that Feinstein’s absence from the Senate—and the Judiciary Committee specifically—will impede Democrats’ ability to confirm judicial nominees. “I can’t consider nominees in these circumstances, because a tie vote is a losing vote in committee,” Durbin told CNN. He continued, “We still have some nominees left on the calendar that we can work on. … But we have more in the wings that we would like to process through the committee.” Feinstein’s team has been tight-lipped about when, if at all, she’ll return to D.C. Her spokesperson told the Chronicle this week that the 89-year-old “continues to work from home in San Francisco as she recuperates.” Earlier this year, Feinstein announced she won’t seek reelection in 2024 as a handful of Democratic House members vie for her seat. But she intends to serve out the rest of her term, which is set to end in January 2025. That’s close to two years from now, and it’s troubling to consider all the key votes and confirmation processes that could be stalled by Feinstein’s absence—either now or in the future, if she becomes ill again—given Democrats’ razor-thin 51-49 majority. As a California voter, I do wish my Senator a speedy recovery but for the sake of our Democracy, I agree with Lovett and feel she needs to now step aside and let Governor Gavin Newsom (D. CA) appoint her replacement. Do you agree or disagree that Senator Feinstein should do the right thing and resign? Click the poll below. Also, please do consider donating and getting involved with any of these Democrats running for Senator Feinstein’s seat: Barbara Lee Katie Porter Adam Schiff [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/11/2163401/-CA-Sen-Pod-Saves-America-s-Jon-Lovett-Makes-The-Case-For-Sen-Dianne-Feinstein-s-D-Resignation Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/