The White House on Tuesday congratulated Sen. Dianne Feinstein‘s (D-CA) apparent retirement, saying she was a “friend and colleague” of the president for more than 30 years.
Feinstein, 89, released a statement Tuesday morning saying she would not seek reelection. Though she momentarily disputed the statement from her own office, it appears she will exit the Senate at the end of her term in 2024.
DIFI OUTAGE: FEINSTEIN DISPUTES HER OWN RETIREMENT DESPITE OFFICE RELEASING STATEMENT
“The president sees the senator as a friend and as a colleague,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “I think that’s incredibly important. He sees her as a longtime friend, and he deeply respects all of the collaboration that they have been able to do on historic legislation over the years.”
Jean-Pierre particularly pointed to the 1994 “assault weapons” ban that Feinstein and Biden worked on together in the Senate. Feinstein was first elected to the upper chamber in 1992, 20 years after Biden. The president has repeatedly pledged to recreate the ban, which expired in 2004.
Feinstein served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988, and her political career began in 1969 when she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She will turn 90 this year, and her age has prompted intense speculation over whether she will run for another term.
Despite the press release from her office, she denied Tuesday afternoon that she had decided not to seek reelection.
“I haven’t made that decision. I haven’t released anything,” she told reporters.
Her staffer promptly let her know a statement had been released, to which she responded, “You put out the statement? I should have known they put it out.”
Feinstein is the third senator to retire this election cycle, and her decision to step down clears the way for a crowded Democratic primary field for her California Senate seat. Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have already announced their campaigns.
Biden, 80, has faced plenty of age-related questions himself. He did not participate in a Super Bowl interview, and reporters questioned Jean-Pierre about why he hadn’t addressed the nation about the four objects shot down from North American skies over the last two weeks. If reelected, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.
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Jean-Pierre also did not comment directly on any of the declared candidates running to replace Feinstein.
“I am prohibited from saying anything more on any upcoming races,” she said. “But again, these are elected officials that we’ve worked very closely with over the last couple of years. I’m just not going to comment on their particular interest in running for that Senate seat.”
