The GOP has blocked an attempt to temporarily replace Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee as the California Democrat recovers from illness after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham objected to the resolution.
Feinstein, 89, is currently under pressure from her own party to resign from office because her absence while she recovers from shingles is preventing the Judiciary Committee from being able to vote to confirm some of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees.
In an April 12 statement saying she would return to D.C. "soon," Feinstein asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to appoint a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary Committee to allow the Senate to confirm justices—a move which would require unanimous support from the upper chamber.
"Our colleague and friend has made her wish clear," Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "Today, I am acting not just as leader, but as Dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the Senate."
South Carolina Senator Graham, the Judiciary ranking member, objected to the plan to temporarily replace Feinstein on the panel, arguing it would be "harmful" to the Senate.
"This is about a handful of judges that you can't get the votes for," Graham said while raising his objection.
"I want to process judges fairly, but the reason this is being made is to try to change the numbers on the committee in a way that I think would be harmful to the Senate, and to pass out a handful of judges that I think should never be on the bench," he said.
The objection from the GOP was not unexpected, with several Republican Senators already stating they would not support plans to temporarily replace Feinstein on the committee.
"Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who himself has recently returned to D.C. after suffering an injury in a fall on March 8, said earlier Tuesday, via The New York Times.
"I will not go along with Chuck Schumer's plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges," Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Senator and fellow member of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted on Monday. "Joe Biden wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America."
The GOP's objection to replace Feinstein in the judiciary panel means that the measure could now go to a roll call vote. However, such a vote is unlikely to pass as it would need the support of every Democratic Senator and at least 10 Republican Senators to achieve the 60 vote threshold.
A number of House Democrats have called on Feinstein to resign as her absence is hindering the judiciary nomination process, with Dean Phillips of Minnesota previously tweeting that it is a "dereliction of duty" for Feinstein to remain in the Senate.
On Sunday, Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar admitted that Feinstein's absence is "going to become an issue" if it continues and she is unable to take part in future votes, such as an upcoming one on raising the debt ceiling.
"If this goes on month after month after month, then she's going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds," Klobuchar told ABC's This Week. "Because this isn't just about California, it's also about the nation."
Feinstein has received support from both sides amid the pressure for her to resign from office.
On Tuesday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted to say Democrats' calls to remove Feinstein from the Judiciary Committee were "unprecedented, completely cynical, and deeply political" and part of their bid to "confirm more radical nominees."
Senator Chuck Grassley, a longtime member of the Judiciary Committee, who is also 89 years old, accused Democrats of trying to force Feinstein out of office "because she's old."
"I don't intend to give credence to that sort of anti-human treatment," the Iowa Republican said.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said Feinstein has earned the right to decide herself when she should leave office.
"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 told Fox News Sunday. "Dianne will get better. She will come back to work."
Feinstein, who was first elected into the Senate in 1992, confirmed in February that she will not seek re-election in 2024.
Feinstein's office has been contacted for comment via email.
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Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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