As much as double standards should rightfully bother anyone who believes in fairness regarding mental fitness and the U.S. Senate, I struggle to rationalize with the argument that everyone deserves the right to suck up space when they can no longer do their job.
Last week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) drew the ire of some of his fellow Democrats when he took to Twitter to call on Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to give up the seat she’s held since 1992.
“We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty,” Khanna wrote. “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.”
Joining Khanna’s call was Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who tweeted, “Senator Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable. But I believe it’s now a dereliction of duty to remain in the Senate and a dereliction of duty for those who agree to remain quiet.”
Their calls were immediately branded as hypocritical by Feinstein’s supporters.
Speaking at an event in San Francisco, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) celebrated Feinstein’s “great leadership” over the years and deemed calls for her resignation to be hypocritical and driven by political agenda.
“She deserves that respect to… to get well and be back on duty,” Pelosi explained. “And just…it’s…it’s interesting to me. I don’t know what political agendas are at work that are going after Senator Feinstein in that way. I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”
In an interview with MSNBC, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) echoed similar cries of hypocrisy: “There have been male senators who have been away from the chamber for quite a period of time... Mitch McConnell, for instance, has been out of the Senate for a few months.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has indeed been away from the Senate for over a month after falling and hitting his head at a Washington hotel, but he returned on Monday. Pelosi, Murphy, and others defending Feinstein are not wrong about plenty of male senators with health issues having missed a significant amount of time away from Capitol Hill. Still, Feinstein ― who announced in March she had contracted shingles and would return to the Senate after recovering at home ― is admittedly taking longer than planned to heal and return to work. Feinstein, 89, the oldest sitting member of Congress, has faced questions about her ability to do her job long before her most recent health concerns.
This time last year, the San Francisco Chronicle published the article ”Colleagues worry Dianne Feinstein is now mentally unfit to serve, citing recent interactions.”
In that piece and subsequent reports from publications like The New York Times, the apparent “open secret” that Feinstein struggles with memory loss and other signs of cognitive decline spilled into the open.
And before those reports surfaced, there were already calls on Feinstein to step aside in light of her (mis)handling of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Yet the longest-serving senator from California has refused to give up her seat then and now ― even as the consequences are painfully apparent.
The Biden administration has long made it clear that it seeks to nominate as many judges to the federal bench as possible ― which the Senate can’t do while Feinstein’s away.
Last month, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Politico, “I’m anxious because I can’t really have a markup of new judge nominees until she’s there.”
In response to calls for her resignation, Feinstein has asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to find a substitute for her on the committee until she can come back at a still undetermined date.
“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.”
Although McConnell and Feinstein are known to have a good rapport, Senate Republicans have already noted that they will fight such a move, which makes the situation potentially even direr given a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas recently ruled that the FDA didn’t have the authority to approve the abortion pill mifepristone.
Feinstein announced earlier this year that she would not run for re-election in 2024, but if she can’t do her job now and provide any return timetable, why is it wrong to call on her to resign now?
Does Khanna, who supports Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in her Senate bid to take Feinstein’s seat, possibly have some political motivation in his call for her resignation?
Perhaps, but so what?
Pelosi also staved off calls to relinquish her leadership position in years past before finally giving it up post-defeat last fall, which might give her a political agenda in defending Feinstein herself.
I understand that women have to deal with ageism far more harshly than men, but in the end, who does a gerontocracy benefit other than stubborn older adults of every gender and hue?
As Mother Jones’ Stephanie Mencimer writes, “With their pathological obsession with personal freedom, Americans are both collectively and individually failing to address the growing problem of impaired elderly people.”
Should an 89-year-old woman that’s been publicly accused of mental unfitness remain in a job she seemingly can’t do because older adult men with similar cognitive issues have stayed in their seats in years past?
Why would anyone want gender parity in this context when it only hurts the most vulnerable?
Much like Feinstein, Ruth Bader Ginsberg has a storied and celebrated legacy thanks to a decades-long groundbreaking career. Still, some of that has since been overshadowed by her refusal to retire during former President Barack Obama’s administration ― resulting in Trump nominating a person who ultimately voted to strip women of their right to abortion.
Now more than ever, it is clear how important it is for Democrats to help shape a court system that better reflects the will of most Americans, but some would rather argue for the right for someone to cling to power they no longer have the capacity to yield.
No matter how much good one has done or tried to do, choices made out of ego and stubbornness hurt others. In America, the consequences will be felt more severely by those that aren’t rich, white, and/or male.
It is not hypocritical to say Feinstein needs to resign ― it’s the only logical outcome at this point, and anyone arguing otherwise is not helping her or the people she’s not serving.