Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been MIA from the Senate since February allegedly due to shingles, has re-emerged from the backseat of a chauffeured Lexus like a phoenix.
Via NBC News:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., cast her first two votes on the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon following a nearly three-month absence due to health issues.
Upon her arrival on Capitol Hill, she was assisted into a wheelchair and greeted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Feinstein told reporters that she feels “much better,” but she did not answer questions about why she decided to return or respond to calls from critics to resign.
89 yo Feinstein looks ready to go back to work😂
“Bring out yer dead”pic.twitter.com/5l5OJhyuI2
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) May 10, 2023
"Hi everyone."
How are you feeling?
"Much better." pic.twitter.com/uuOWou7T4d
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) May 10, 2023
Brave and stunning.
Since Feinstein’s been gone, the judicial committee she serves on has been unable to push forward any Democrat judicial nominees, much to the chagrin of fellow Democrats and to the delight of conservatives who would rather not see the courts packed with their political opponents.
In an apparent effort to temper expectations regarding her return, Feinstein’s handlers released a statement cautioning the public that the senator might be back officially on the job, but she’ll have a “lighter schedule” and she’ll probably, they cautioned, be wheeled around in a wheelchair for an indefinite period:
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Feinstein said that she is back in Washington but will be working a “lighter schedule” as she resumes her duties.
“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,” Feinstein said. “My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate. I’m hopeful those issues will subside as I continue to recover.
To pretend as if 89-year-old Feinstein is ever going to truly get back to work for the people of California in the Senate in any meaningful capacity is an insult to everyone’s intelligence. She’s arguably worse than Biden in the cognitive department.
To even pretend that “Feinstein released a statement,” as NBC News framed it, is disingenuous. Feinstein doesn’t know what planet she’s on. She doesn’t release anything. Her unelected handlers, whoever they are, run her political career these days, such as it is, from the shadows.
Twitter blue-check partisans rushed to Feinstein’s defense.
“If you are attacking her appearance, you are pathetic. Attack her policies or her abilities, but attacking the looks of an elderly woman, recovering from illness, is about as low as you can get on the human totem pole. I have so much respect for this woman and her drive to continue working for America,” wrote Brian Krassenstein.
BREAKING: Today Senator Feinstein returned to the Senate after battling shingles at 89-years-old. I have a few things to say about what I'm seeing on Twitter about it all.
#1 I'm glad to see her back and able to help move things along for Democrats.
#2 If you are attacking her… pic.twitter.com/meNuChaSAF
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) May 10, 2023
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