Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) became frustrated with her aides when they were prepping her for a routine Senate vote last Thursday, saying she didn’t know about the recent stopgap funding bill, according to a report.
Feinstein was having a discussion with her staff in the Senate basement — a conversation that was overheard by an Insider reporter.
MANCHIN AND SCHUMER DROP PERMITTING REFORM, PAVING WAY FOR STOPGAP SPENDING BILL
“This is a vote on the continuing resolution. Do you have any questions about it?” an aide reportedly said to Feinstein. The senator became frustrated and said, “I don’t even know what that is.”
During her tenure in Congress, Feinstein has voted on multiple continuing resolutions over the years.
This continuing resolution, or a CR bill, will keep federal agencies funded at current levels until Dec. 16. It also provides billions in additional aid for Ukraine and reauthorizes the Food and Drug Administration’s drug user fee program.
The bill passed the Senate 72-25, with Feinstein voting “yes.”
The resolution easily passed the Senate after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) withdrew energy permitting reforms that sparked bipartisan opposition.
On Friday, the House passed the same bill just before the Oct. 1 midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown. It cleared the House 230-201, mostly along party lines, with Democrats in favor. President Joe Biden then signed it.
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Feinstein, 89, is one of the oldest members of Congress. Several fellow senators have raised concerns over Feinstein’s cognitive abilities, stating that her memory is “rapidly deteriorating.”
The senator has defended herself, telling SFGATE in May: “If the question is whether I’m an effective senator for 40 million Californians, the record shows that I am.”
