Gillibrand won’t support calls for Feinstein to step down: ‘It’s her right’

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said it’s Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) “right” to decide when to step down from office as she faces calls from within her own party to resign.

“She’s a team player, and she’s an extraordinary member of the Senate. It’s her right. She’s been voted by her state to be senator for six years. She has the right, in my opinion, to decide when she steps down,” Gillibrand said of Feinstein on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Feinstein, 89, has been absent from the Senate for the last several weeks after being diagnosed with shingles. Gillibrand’s comments come after Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called for Feinstein to resign, arguing that “she can no longer fulfill her duties.”

Gillibrand lauded Feinstein as an “extraordinary senator” and “a role model” in the chamber.

“Her legacy and her depth of experience is valuable. And we have had so many senators who have had illnesses, whether it’s [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s illnesses, or senators who have had strokes. These are issues that — we’re human,” Gillibrand said.

Feinstein has said her return to the upper chamber was “delayed due to continued complications” related to her diagnosis, and requested Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ask the Senate to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve in her role as Judiciary Committee chair until she’s able to get back to work.

“We believe that a senator should be able to make their own judgments about when they’re retiring and when they’re not. And they all deserve a chance to get better and come back to work. Dianne will get better. She will come back to work,” Gillibrand said.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on “Meet the Press” Sunday echoed Gillibrand’s sentiments, saying “it’s up to” the senator and her family whether to keep serving, and noted she was “pleased” Feinstein decided to ask for a fill-in for her Judiciary seat.

“I think that is really an important, a responsible thing to do during her absence, because we have President Biden’s nominees waiting for hearings and votes and we want to keep that moving. But I wish her well and hope she returns to the Senate very soon,” she said.