Retire now please....

Dianne Feinstein returns to Senate, says she must work 'lighter schedule'

Alec Regimbal

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate on Wednesday, marking what seemed to be the end of a months-long absence due to shingles, punctuated with calls for her to resign.

Photographers thoroughly cataloged the return of the 89-year-old lawmaker: She got out of a car, was helped into a wheelchair, which was then pushed into the Capital building. 

In a video of the moment, shot by a political reporter at HuffPost, she can be heard asking an aide, "Where am I going?" As she is being lowered into her wheelchair, a person not seen on camera says, "Don't let her fall." 

Feinstein can also be heard saying, "I've got something in my eye," before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greets her. The reporter who shot the video, Jennifer Bendery, tweeted that one of the senator's eyes appeared bloodshot. 

Feinstein herself didn't speak to reporters Wednesday, but her office did release a statement. 

“Even though I’ve made significant progress and was able to return to Washington, I’m still experiencing some side effects from the shingles virus," it said, according to CNN's Manu Raj. “My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate.”

Feinstein arrived in Washington on Tuesday, but missed votes on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, according to HuffPost. She reportedly cast two votes on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, her first since February. 

Her absence has left the Senate Judiciary Committee evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, meaning President Joe Biden's judicial nominees have mostly struggled to advance through the nomination process. News that she would be returning to the Senate came just days after the New York Times Editorial Board wrote a stinging piece arguing that if she refuses to resign, Schumer and his colleagues essentially needed to force her to. 

“If she cannot fulfill her obligations to the Senate and to her constituents, she should resign and turn over her responsibilities to an appointed successor,” the board wrote. “If she is unable to reach that decision on her own, Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators should make it clear to her and the public how important it is that she do so.” 

Other public figures have also called for the senator to resign in recent weeks. A political reporter at the Intercept, Ken Klippenstein, made waves on Twitter Wednesday when he posted the names and photos of several Feinstein staff members, saying they should be "blacklisted from politics forever" for not forcing Feinstein to resign by stepping down themselves. 

Feinstein announced earlier this year that she would not run for another term in 2024, but emphasized that she was committed to finishing her current one.