Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has previously said she doesn’t want to be president pro tempore of the Senate — third in line to the presidency — but when asked about it by Insider, the 89-year old seemed unaware that she’d issued a statement.
Quote of the Day
“I’m giving it thought… I managed to pass the first assault weapons bill. So it hasn’t been an impediment, that I have seen. Now somebody, for their bill, may find different.”
— Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), quoted by Forbes on the filibuster, apparently not aware that her assault weapons bill expired in 2004.
The Tragedy of Dianne Feinstein
Los Angeles Times: “Deep into her ninth decade, Feinstein is no longer the politically revered figure she once was. There is talk of mental decline, of selfishly overstaying her time in office and calls for the Democrat to resign … The slow, sad fade is not simply a function of Feinstein’s age — she is 87 — but also the fact that times and the political world have changed and Feinstein, whether unwilling or unable, has failed to change along with them.”
“Bipartisanship, which is to say working with people with whom you may have deep and stark disagreements, is widely disdained these days as a form of retreat and surrender. It is, however, at the core of what Feinstein has always been: a believer in deliberation and political decorum, in practicality and legislative pragmatism… Today, Feinstein is a subject of scorn, considered by many a relic who is well past her prime, who refuses to yield to someone younger, more vibrant, more politically pugnacious and more reflective of California’s kaleidoscopic racial and ethnic diversity. History, with its long view, is likely to be much kinder.”
Dianne Feinstein Sees Sharp Decline In Support
A new Berkeley IGS poll in California finds just 35% of registered voters approve of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) work, while 45% disapproved.
The same percentage of voters statewide — 45% — said the senator is less effective than she was in the past, while just 22% believe she is as effective as ever.
Feinstein Lectures Children on Green New Deal
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) “isn’t backing the Green New Deal, and she wasn’t shy about letting a group who does support it know it — even if they are children,” NBC News reports.
“A group of schoolchildren visited the senator at her San Francisco office Friday and urged her to get on board with the renewable energy legislation. But the conversation quickly turned into somewhat of a confrontation, and Feinstein has been criticized online for the tone she took. Edited video of the 85-year-old lecturing more than a dozen kids went viral Friday.”
“Her supporters said a longer video of the confrontation depicts Feinstein in a kinder light.”
Cotton Says That Feinstein Will Be Investigated
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said that Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office will be investigated to determine if it leaked a confidential letter from one of Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers, Politico reports.
Cotton also said that lawyers recommended to Christine Blasley Ford by Democrats will face a Washington, D.C., Bar investigation for telling her that committee staffers would not travel to California to interview her about her alleged assault.
Feinstein Says Kavanaugh Misled Senators
Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Politico that she has now identified another area in which she believes Brett Kavanaugh was not truthful in communications with senators.
“She said that by directing officials to speak to reporters during the investigation of President Bill Clinton, Kavanaugh may have violated grand jury secrecy laws — even though he told her and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) he never broke those rules.”
Feinstein Calls for Delay In Kavanaugh Hearing
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, “called late Sunday for a delay in further consideration of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct,” the Washington Post reports.
In a statement issued by the White House, Kavanaugh denied the accusation and called it “a smear, plain and simple.”
Senate Democrats Have Referred Kavanaugh Letter to FBI
“Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“The contents of the letter have been closely guarded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as California Rep. Anna Eshoo, who originally received the letter and shared it with Feinstein, according to sources familiar with the matter. But whispers of what it contains have made the rounds across Capitol Hill over the past week.”
The Intercept: “The specific content of the document, which is a letter from a California constituent, is unclear, but Feinstein’s refusal to share the letter has created tension on the committee, particularly after Feinstein largely took a back seat to her more junior colleagues last week.”
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Feinstein Looks Like She’s Running Again
“The nation’s oldest U.S. senator looks like she’s sticking around. California’s Dianne Feinstein turns 84 on Thursday and is displaying signs that she’s headed for a re-election campaign, not a retirement party,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
“While the Democrat has been coy when asked about seeking a fifth full term next year, her political committee, unambiguously titled Feinstein for Senate 2018, raised more than $650,000 in the first three months of this year in a cue she is looking ahead.”
Feinstein Concerned that Trump Will Fire Mueller
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that she is concerned that President Trump will try to fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Feinstein: “The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn’t apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired. That’s undemocratic on its face and a blatant violation of the president’s oath of office.”
She added: “It’s becoming clear to me that the president has embarked on an effort to undermine anyone with the ability to bring any misdeeds to light, be that Congress, the media or the Justice Department. The Senate should not let that happen.”
Feinstein Re-Election Plans Wait on Family Health Issue
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said she is waiting for some family health issues to be resolved before she announces whether she’ll run for another term in 2018, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Feinstein: “The time is coming, be assured. I’ve had reasons for waiting, and so once those problems are solved, I’ll let you know.”
Feinstein Says Trump May Disqualify Himself
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) seemed to indicate “that she expects President Donald Trump may disqualify himself from office over potential constitutional breaches and conflicts of interest,” Politico reports.
“Surrounded by a group of mostly liberal protesters outside a Los Angeles fundraiser, Feinstein fielded a slew of questions on her feelings about what the left has alleged are Trump’s constitutional breaches, including one activist’s recitation of Trump’s potential conflicts of interest — from profiting off of his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, to winning trademarks in China.”
When asked, “How are we going to get him out?,” Feinstein replied, “I think he’s gonna get himself out.”