A plan to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Senate Judiciary Committee faces growing dissent among Republicans.
On Monday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) became the latest member to voice opposition to the proposal that could quickly end the gridlock preventing the advancement of judicial nominees as Feinstein deals with complications from shingles.
“I will not go along with [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges,” Blackburn said in a tweet.
I will not go along with Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges. Joe Biden wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 17, 2023
President Joe Biden “wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America,” she added.
Feinstein has been absent from Capitol Hill since announcing in early March that she had been hospitalized in San Francisco after being diagnosed with a case of shingles.
Last week, as she faced calls from fellow Democrats to resign, Feinstein asked Sen. Schumer (D-NY) to temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee while she recovers, acknowledging that her “absence could delay the important work” of the panel.
“I intend to return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it’s safe for me to travel,” Feinstein said. “In the meantime, I remain committed to the job and will continue to work from home in San Francisco.”
Blackburn follows Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who, like his colleague from Tennessee, is a member of the Judiciary Committee, in speaking out against the plan. “Republicans should not assist Democrats in confirming Joe Biden’s most radical nominees to the courts,” he tweeted over the weekend.
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With unanimous consent seemingly off the table, replacing Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee would require 60 votes in the narrowly-divided Senate. At least 10 Republicans need to join with Democrats and independents to approve the swap.
Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) recently conceded that Feinstein’s absence is holding up the ability of the panel, which is split 10-10 along party lines without her, to advance Biden’s nominees to federal courts around the nation. “I can’t consider nominees in these circumstances because a tie vote is a losing vote in committee,” he told CNN.
Schumer told reporters on Monday he wants to put forward a resolution this week and hopes Republicans will join Democrats in settling on a temporary replacement. The majority leader said he plans to speak with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who just returned to Capitol Hill himself after recovering from a fall, about the possibility of a swap.
At the age of 89, Feinstein is the Senate’s oldest member, and in recent years some colleagues have raised concerns about her mental fitness. Feinstein announced in February she would not seek re-election in 2024, and three prominent House Democrats — Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee — have announced campaigns to replace Feinstein in the Senate.