Politics

Ayanna Pressley says she supports Dianne Feinstein’s resignation

“I wish her well in her health and her recovery. But I do think that if it's impacting her ability to do the job, I would support a resignation.”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley during an unrelated news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 27, 2023. J. Scott Applewhite / AP, File
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Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley on Tuesday night joined the growing calls for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign. 

Feinstein, 89, has missed most of the year’s votes in the Senate as she recovers from a case of shingles, according to NPR. In her absence, she has requested that she be temporarily replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee until she returns, but a vote to do so was recently blocked by Republican lawmakers

Her absence has meant that Democrats have been unable to move forward President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees and that the party may be short a vote on other priorities, according to The New York Times

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An increasing number of Democrats have been calling on Feinstein, who has already announced she will not run for re-election in 2024, to step down early, including California Rep. Ro Khanna and New York Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

“Certainly, I wish [Sen. Feinstein] — who is a trailblazer in her own right and has ably and faithfully served in the Senate for many decades — I wish her well in her health and her recovery,” Pressley told GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” on Tuesday. “But I do think that if it’s impacting her ability to do the job, I would support a resignation.”

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Pressley said the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee is “one example” of the narrow margin of majority held by Democrats. 

According to NPR, should Feinstein step down, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would be slated to appoint her replacement until the 2024 election.

Feinstein has held her seat since 1992 and has so far pushed back on the calls for her to resign.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, right, speaks with United States gymnasts, from left, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and McKayla Maroney after a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.
Sen. Diane Feinstein, right, speaks with United States gymnasts, from left, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and McKayla Maroney after a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. – Saul Loeb / Pool via AP
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Dialynn Dwyer is a reporter and editor at Boston.com, covering breaking and local news across Boston and New England.

 

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