As RedState reported, the moment during a press briefing where Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 81, froze for several seconds while standing at a podium in what appeared to be a troubling health episode sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill on Wednesday, forcing Republicans to confront the age issues within their ranks in the midst of continued questions regarding 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s fitness to lead the country.
But in an alarming development that perhaps eclipses the McConnell incident, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who returned to the Senate back in May after reportedly suffering a particularly troublesome bout of shingles, had to be prompted to “say aye” multiple times by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and someone who is presumably an aide to Feinstein after she attempted to give a speech during a roll call vote on a defense appropriations bill Thursday.
Watch:
Asked to vote on the defense appropriations bill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) begins giving a speech: “I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this. It provides …”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): “Just say aye.” pic.twitter.com/Gw2eZ9rEMv
— The Recount (@therecount) July 27, 2023
As my colleagues and I have also extensively documented, Feinstein’s rumored cognitive issues, which California Democrats first raised questions about over a year or so ago, have also been on display at various points since her return to Washington, D.C., including when she seemingly did not remember that she had been absent from the Senate for two months at all.
Other instances of Feinstein sparking concern include one incident that happened just outside the Senate chamber in February after a vote, where Feinstein apparently forgot the bill she had just voted on. That one followed another where Feinstein was talking to reporters and said she had not made a decision about her political future, and appeared to be unaware that her office had announced that she had in fact made the decision to retire at the end of her term.
Outside of the Thursday incident, we haven’t heard much from or about Feinstein’s movements since her return, and that’s been largely by design as her aides and staffers have been doing whatever they can to literally hide her from the press in a situation that reminds me of Joe Biden’s basement campaign in 2020 and how his handlers believed the best thing to do was to keep him shielded from scrutiny as much as possible.
In any event, the “Feinstein issue” roared back to life Thursday and at a very inconvenient time for Joe Biden and his 2024 reelection campaign. I sincerely wish her well, and though this is a sensitive issue that some find uncomfortable to discuss, we must, because way too much is at stake to leave the important decisions in the hands of people who are probably much better off retiring and resting comfortably at home or by the lake surrounded by friends and loved ones than sitting next to the levers of power.
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