Her absence has stalled confirmations of President Biden’s judicial nominees, given that only judges with some Republican support can move to the floor without her tiebreaking vote on the committee. She has provided no timeline for her return to Washington. The Senate is narrowly divided and under Democratic control, 51-49.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) announced on Twitter on Monday that she would “not go along with Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges.”
She joins Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), in publicly announcing she will not support a temporary replacement for Feinstein.
Their objections add up to a major headache for Democrats, who were hoping to quickly solve the political and tactical problem of Feinstein this week by replacing her on the committee. Most committee assignments for both Republicans and Democrats are passed without fanfare or controversy by unanimous voice votes on the Senate floor. But now with Republicans lining up to object to the temporary change, it’s clear replacing Feinstein on the committee would take 60 votes to approve, which means at least 10 Republicans would need to back the measure.
Feinstein’s absence has given Republicans leverage to block judicial nominees even while they’re in the minority. That makes it less likely there will be 10 Republicans willing to cross the aisle and help Democrats temporarily replace her.
McConnell, who as Senate majority leader blocked President Barack Obama from filling a Supreme Court vacancy in 2016, has not yet commented on his view of the replacement.
Cotton shared an article in the conservative publication the Federalist in announcing his objection to temporarily replacing Feinstein, noting that “the task of persuading 10 Republicans to cooperate with the president’s judicial agenda will prove even more difficult if Sen. Mitch McConnell … holds the line.” The article praised McConnell for his “hard-nosed judiciary tactics” in the past.
If Schumer’s attempt to replace Feinstein fails this week, calls for her resignation on the left may grow. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) asked Feinstein to step down last week, citing her long absence. Feinstein was hospitalized in March for treatment of shingles, and she has missed at least 60 votes this year.
“While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people,” Khanna said. Feinstein announced she would not run for reelection earlier this year.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday she plans to take Feinstein “at her word” that she hopes to return to Washington soon, but that if her absence stretches on for “months,” it is time to rethink the situation.
“If this goes on month after month after month, then she’s gonna have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds, because this isn’t just about California; it’s also about the nation,” Klobuchar said on ABC’s “This Week.” “So it’s going to become an issue as the months go by. But I’m taking her at her word that she’s going to return.”
Other lawmakers have defended Feinstein, with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) telling reporters it was “interesting” to see the resignation calls. “I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way,” she said last week. “I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”
