Dem
51
GOP
49
As we wrote on Friday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is becoming an ever-bigger problem for Senate Democrats. They need her vote to advance judges and other nominees through the Judiciary Committee, and under current rules can't do that very easily while she is holed up in California. In addition, many Democrats see her as a holdover from a long-gone era, when Republicans bargained in good faith and you could make deals with them. She is now out of step with her constituents who want to confront them, not make nice to them. Also, with a net worth of $90 million (the 6th richest senator), she is out of touch with nearly everyone in the country when it comes to economics.
One person causing Feinstein and the Democrats a lot of anguish is, as we noted last week, a prominent Democrat. Namely Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who represents CA-47, which covers part of Silicon Valley and includes the corporate headquarters of Apple, Intel, and Yahoo, among other tech companies. It is the wealthiest congressional district in the country, with a median household income of $157,000. Khanna has come out publicly demanding that Feinstein resign now.
Does Apple or Intel want that? Nah. There is something else at play here. If Feinstein were to resign, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) would get to appoint her replacement, who would serve until Jan. 3, 2025, when the winner of the 2024 California Senate election would take over. Newsom has promised that he would appoint a Black woman if he gets the chance, in part because the current Senate has no Black women in it. Does Khanna know that? Yup. In fact, he is co-chair of the campaign of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who is running for the Senate. Lee is Black. Khanna apparently thinks that if Feinstein is pushed out, Newsom will have to appoint Lee, giving her a huge boost. Until last November, Newsom would have had the option of appointing of then-Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), but now that she is mayor of Los Angeles, that is exceedingly unlikey.
If Lee hadn't announced a Senate run of her own, Newsom could have picked her, but he doesn't want to play favorites among the Senate candidates, so she is probably off the table now, regardless of what Khanna thinks.
But there is at least one other high-profile female Black representative Newsom could pick: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Waters is very progressive, so her appointment would please part of his base. She will be 85 in August, so for her, a year and a half in the Senate would be a nice capstone on her long congressional career. She is the ranking member of the House Banking Committee, and shows no signs that her age is hampering her in any way. Yes, there would be "youth movement" jokes about replacing an 89-year-old with an 85-year-old, but those would pass. Her Los Angeles-based district is D+32, so some other Democrat would win the resulting special election with ease.
There is one other conceivable outcome of a Feinstein resignation that is unlikely, but worth noting. Suppose Newsom were to appoint Kamala Harris to the Senate. Since she has already been a senator, she could hit the ground running. She could announce that Cactus Jack Garner was right and the vice presidency is indeed not worth a bucket of warm p**s. Then, in 2028, she could run for the White House if she wants to without having to give up her Senate seat, assuming she wins a full term in 2024.
Getting Harris off the ticket gracefully would solve a problem for Joe Biden. Some voters might be hesitant to vote for him due to his age and their fear that Harris could finish Biden's second term for him. If Harris were moved off to the Senate, Black women voters would probably not see it as a demotion, since Harris could still run for president in 2028 as a sitting senator. If she failed to get the nomination, she could still serve in the Senate for another 30 years. In this scenario, Biden could pick a new running mate who wouldn't scare off many voters and who could bring something extra to the ticket—for example, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). Of course, to pull this off, Newsom, Harris, and Biden would all have to be on board, but there is something in this for each of them.
Another problem the Democrats are having in the Feinstein mess is accusations of a double standard. When Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) took a leave of absence to fight depression, nobody called for him to resign. When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had an accident that led to a concussion, nobody called for him to resign. When Pat Leahy had hip surgery last year and missed many votes, nobody called for him to resign. Hell, when Strom Thurmond got to the point he couldn't tell an elephant from a donkey, or even from a box of corn flakes, nobody was demanding his resignation. The story then was that if the voters wanted him to retire, they could arrange that. But when a woman gets sick, out she must go.
Among other Democrats who detected a double standard here were one of Feinstein's constituents: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She said: "I don't know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way. I've never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way."
Still, male senators do sometimes resign for health reasons. Johnny Isakson resigned in 2019, citing his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Feinstein could go somewhat gracefully by citing her battle against shingles. It is up to her, but this story is not over yet. (V)