Khanna: Feinstein’s office should hold press conference on senator’s condition

Rep. Ro Khanna (D) said Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) office should hold a press conference on the senator’s health following her return to Washington, D.C. after a multi-month hiatus while she was battling shingles. 

Khanna said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday that Feinstein or one of her staff members should be open about her ability to continue to serve. 

“I think they at the very least owe transparency, whether it’s her or someone on her staff, to have a press conference to answer exactly what the truth is of her condition and her ability to do the job,” he said. 

Khanna’s comments come after he reiterated his call for Feinstein to step down as a senator, saying that her health conditions make her unable to serve in the Senate. He said in an interview on MSNBC on Thursday that Feinstein, who is California’s first female senator, has had an “extraordinary career,” but he hopes someone close to her will tell her to “end your service with dignity” by stepping aside. 

Feinstein returned to the Capitol earlier this month for the first time since February after being hospitalized with shingles and needing to stay at home in San Francisco to recover. The absence of the 89-year-old senator put some contested judicial nominees from President Biden on hold as Democrats maintain narrow control of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate as a whole. 

But a spokesperson for Feinstein confirmed on Thursday that Feinstein had been experiencing more severe health problems than shingles. They said she had encephalitis, a rare complication of shingles that causes brain swelling, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which causes facial paralysis and other symptoms. 

Khanna was the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Feinstein to step down amid her health struggles, and he has been joined by other Democratic representatives like Dean Phillips (Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

Khanna said he admires Feinstein’s service and feels bad about her condition. He said he does not blame her, but a member of her staff should answer questions about her status. 

“The real thing is that there need to be who are close to her who have that conversation in a loving way and get her to do what I believe is the dignified thing,” he said.