A scathing article published Thursday by The New Yorker calls into question the mental fitness of California’s senior Senator.
Dianne Feinstein, 87, bore the brunt of the story, as former aides defended her, telling the publication "rumors of her cognitive decline have been exaggerated." On the other hand, critics were quick to point out a particularly concerning episode when the Senator appeared to ask Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey the same question twice without realizing it at a recent hearing about social media disinformation.
Other accusations include poor short-term memory, so bad she’ll forget she’s been briefed on a topic: "They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said and getting upset when she can’t keep up."
“Well-informed" sources told The New Yorker Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had asked Feinstein to step down from her leadership position on the Judiciary Committee twice, doing so because Feinstein apparently forgot the first conversation.
Feinstein eventually gave up her status as the top Democrat on the committee last month.
Sources also said Schumer was increasingly concerned over how Feinstein would handle the nomination hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Progressive and liberal groups were outraged when Feinstein hugged Senator Lindsey Graham after the hearing had ended, further draining her public opinion polls.
Feinstein is known as a hero in San Francisco, saving the city from certain collapse upon the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. She went on to run for U.S. Senate, a body which she has served for the last 28 years.
Feinstein’s current term, which she was elected to in 2018, ends in 2024.
Both Feinstein's and Schumer’s offices declined to comment for the story.
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