Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has been hospitalized due to shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash. The 89-year-old senator has said that she is receiving treatment and expects to make a full recovery. She hopes to return to the Senate later this month.
Feinstein’s absence, along with that of fellow Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has temporarily vanished the Senate’s Democratic 51-49 majority. With 98 sitting senators, there would be 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans. However, Senate math is fluid because, in addition to Fetterman and Feinstein, there have been other absences.
The Senate has been without its nominal majority for much of the week due to multiple absences, including that of Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon who missed this week’s votes after his mother passed away. Last month, Democratic Senator Bob Casey missed a stretch of votes when he had prostate cancer surgery. On the Republican side, Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho has been absent, resulting in the chamber’s status remaining at 48-48 for most of the week.
Despite the nominal tie, Democrats can still enjoy a functional majority status. Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote to allow judicial nominations to clear the Senate.
Feinstein has represented California since 1992, and with her term ending next year, Democratic Representatives Katie Porter, Adam Schiff, and Barbara Lee have all indicated they will campaign for her seat, according to the LA Times. However, it is unclear what the political landscape will look like in the coming months, as there is a major shift taking place in Washington with a new political alignment, according to Hugh Gurdon, editor-in-chief of the Washington Examiner.
“Things have changed for the better on Capitol Hill. Republicans are passing legislation, which hasn’t happened since 2020, and there is a pleasing, if limited, measure of bipartisanship, which had been absent throughout the grim tenure of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA),” he wrote in an Op-Ed.
“It is not just that Republicans now own the House majority and that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has, as Karl Rove pointed out, restored regular order and respect across the aisle. Nor is it that House Democrats are helping pass GOP legislation, let alone in gratitude that the minority is no longer treated with contempt,” he wrote.
Gurdon noted that Senate Democrats are showing an independent turn of mind, as demonstrated by the support of Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana for a resolution Democrats oppose that would block a rule dictating how retirement fund managers should invest.
“Biden wouldn’t have this problem if Democrats were less inclined to prop up tottering candidates for jobs that they are clearly incapable of doing. It makes stark the priority Democrats give to winning elections rather than governing effectively,” he wrote.
Although Gurdon’s comments were not directly related to Feinstein’s illness, they suggest that the political landscape in Washington is in flux, and the balance of power could shift in the coming months.
Sources: WesternJournal, KFSN-TV, LA Times, Washington Examiner
