Senate Democrat: Feinstein ‘deserves the opportunity to make a decision about her career’

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) on Sunday said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) “deserves the opportunity to make a decision about her career” as she faces scrutiny over her health and calls from some lawmakers to resign from her upper chamber seat. 

“I think Senator Feinstein has performed remarkably during her career. I think, at this point, she has medical issues. She’s acknowledged those issues. She still is able to summon the energy and the concentration to come to vote. She is continuing to work. I think she deserves the opportunity to – to make a decision about her career,” Reed said on “Fox News Sunday.” 

Feinstein, who at 89 is the oldest sitting senator, returned to the Senate earlier this month after a bout with shingles spurred a prolonged absence from Capitol Hill since February. 

The senator has been facing calls to resign as her absence from the chamber, which Democrats hold by a slim majority, impedes the party’s legislative work. 

Shortly after her return to the Capitol, she told reporters that she hadn’t been gone and that she’d “been working,” despite her weeks-long absence.

Asked if she was referring to working from home, Feinstein said, “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting … Please. You either know or don’t know.”

A spokesperson said last week that Feinstein suffered from more serious complications from her shingles than had been previously disclosed, including encephalitis, a rare complication of shingles that causes the brain to swell, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, in which the shingles virus impacts the facial nerve.

“I had the opportunity to serve with Strom Thurmond, who was 100 years old when he retired. And there were some people back then who were saying he should go. But not with the same kind of intensity today,” Reed said on Sunday, referring to the late South Carolina senator.

“Again, I think this is something that Senator Feinstein should consider and make a decision.”