Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., turned 90 last month, and she’s stirred questions about her fitness to serve the remainder of her term.
Now, after Thursday, even Feinstein’s staff is acknowledging her confusion.
The Senate voted Thursday on a defense budget for next year, and the presiding officer called on Feinstein to vote.
A colleague told Feinstein, “Say aye.”
Feinstein, still on the mic, said, “Pardon me?”
“Aye,” the colleague repeated.
“Yeah,” Feinstein said. “I would like to support a yes vote on this,” Feinstein continued. “It provides $823 billion, that’s an increase of $26 billion for the Department of Defense. And it funds priorities submitted—”
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., interrupted. “Just say aye,” Murray said.
Feinstein eventually said aye after hearing some whispers. She tried to laugh it off… but no one laughed with her.
Take a look —
Asked to vote on the defense appropriations bill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) begins giving a speech: “I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this. It provides …”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): “Just say aye.” pic.twitter.com/Gw2eZ9rEMv
— The Recount (@therecount) July 27, 2023
The Senate eventually passed the annual defense bill before adjourning for August recess. If signed into law, the bill would deliver a 5.2% pay raise for service members and keep the nation’s military operating, avoiding partisan policy battles with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.
Senate passage, 86-11, sets up a clash with the House, which passed its own version of the annual defense bill earlier this month after pointed debates over social issues like abortion access and diversity initiatives.
After Thursday’s vote, Feinstein’s office acknowledged the senator’s confusion… but also defended her confusion.
“The senator was preoccupied, didn’t realize debate had just ended and a vote was called. She started to give a statement, was informed it was a vote and then cast her vote,” a spokesperson told CBS News.
“The committee markup this morning was a little chaotic, constantly switching back and forth between statements, votes, and debate and the order of bills.”
Feinstein’s office is making excuses for the senator with five decades of experience in politics.
Feinstein has declined to run for re-election, but she plans to stay in office until the end of her term in January 2025, according to her office’s remarks to The Washington Post in May.
She missed more than a month of work earlier this year due to a case of shingles. Speaking to CNN, she reportedly dismissed her illness as a “really bad flu.” However, her office later acknowledged more severe complications, like brain inflammation and a bout of facial paralysis linked to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.