Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), a 90-year-old lawmaker who has faced calls to resign due to her medical issues, is recovering at her San Francisco home after being hospitalized due to a fall, her office said on Wednesday.
News of the lawmaker’s spill and subsequent hospitalization first got published by TMZ.
In a statement to various media outlets afterward, Feinstein’s team said the senator “briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home. All of her scans were clear and she returned home.”
The Senate’s oldest current member, Feinstein has led some colleagues to raise concerns about her health and ability to do the job, particularly after instances of her being forgetful or getting befuddled. Feinstein made headlines last month when she appeared confused and began to deliver a speech during a vote on Capitol Hill.
Following a months-long absence during which Feinstein received treatment for and recovered from shingles, she made a comeback to the Senate in a wheelchair this spring. Her office then conceded the senator was contending with related complications, including Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.
In recent weeks, media reports said Feinstein had given the power of attorney to her daughter as they contend with some family legal disputes.
Feinstein announced in February she would not seek re-election in 2024. Three prominent House Democrats — Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee — have announced campaigns to replace Feinstein in the Senate.
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Some of Feinstein’s fellow Democrats have called on her to step down before her term is up. That includes Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), though he told POLITICO he would give the “situation the benefit of the doubt” and is “hopeful” that Feinstein would be able to fulfill her duties.
A majority of California voters — 63% — believe Feinstein should resign and allow Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to appoint a successor to serve the remainder of her term, according to a survey from Inside California Politics and Emerson College Polling released in June.
When Feinstein skipped a planned appearance at an event in San Francisco last week, which her office attributed to the senator “not feeling well” and having a cough, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) insisted that Feinstein was “good … she’s doing her job,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.