Dianne Feinstein leaves Senate hearing forgetting whether she voted for judicial nominee: report

16 February 2023

United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) appeared to forget having cast a vote for one of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Business Insider's Warren Rojas, "Insider overheard the California Democrat ask her long-time chief of staff, David Grannis, about approving a judicial nominee to the federal bench." Feinstein reportedly wondered, "did I vote for that?" to which Grannis replied, "no."

The incident is the latest in a string of similar occurrences wherein Feinstein, 89, has demonstrated signs of possible cognitive decline.

"The most jarring part about the public episode was that Grannis was trying to map out what Feinstein — whose cognitive ability has increasingly come into question — needed to know about what was happening later, but she couldn't recall what had transpired minutes before," Rojas wrote.

"An Insider review of the floor proceedings confirmed that Feinstein did not vote on the nomination of Judge Adrienne C. Nelson to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Nelson was confirmed by a vote of 52-46," Rojas explained. "Feinstein voted to invoke cloture on Judge Ana C. Reyes to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. That procedural motion passed by a vote of 52-47."

Rojas further noted that last fall, Feinstein clashed with staffers inside the Capitol following a vote for a continuing resolution.

"I don't even know what that is," the senator snapped.

Business Insider's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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