Senator Dianne Feinstein has been diagnosed with shingles. This leaves the Senate in flux when it comes to a Democrat majority. Because they don’t HAVE a majority right now. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the longest-serving woman in Senate history, said she’s been hospitalized for treatment of shingles in San Francisco. She’s missed all the votes this week in the Senate.

Here’s her statement

“I was diagnosed over the February recess with a case of shingles. I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery. I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”

Believe me, no matter that I am not a fan of her politics, having shingles is horrible. Especially when you are 89 years old! The news reports talk about the rash, but they don’t mention how bad the nerve pain is. Needless to say, with Diane already in ill health and 89 years old, shingles is no laughing matter. Her statement says she hopes to be back by the end of March. So, depending upon the severity of the shingles outbreak she’s dealing with and her overall health, what the actual recovery time could be is quite the question. 

Which goes to the issue. Senator Feinstein has already missed an entire week of votes, twelve I believe. If she’s out until the end of March, how many votes will she miss? 

This give rise to the business of the Senate itself. Democrats held 51 seats after the 2022 election. That’s barely a majority. But NOW, the Democrats are down two Senators. 

John Fetterman is at Walter Reed for the foreseeable future dealing with severe mental health issues, and likely physical issues stemming from his stroke. As we know, his wife took their kids and did a jaunt up to Rochester and then into Canada to visit Niagara Falls and go zip-lining. Meanwhile, his staff is ‘helping’ Senator Fetterman conduct business to the point of signing onto legislation involving the East Palestine, Ohio train wreck.

U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introducing new legislation aimed at preventing future freight train derailments like the one last month in East Palestine, Ohio.

Yet, when asked, his chief of staff blocks people who dare ask questions as to how this is working. 

John Fetterman is currently incapacitated and under hospitalized observation and also introducing congressional legislation.

Also, if you ask his office about it, they will block you on Twitter.

Seems like something worth looking into. https://t.co/74pvIA58T5

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 2, 2023

All of which goes to two things with this. Two Senators are essentially out of commission. Neither of them can vote on any legislation. Neither of them can even vote on anything within the respective committees on which they serve. 

So, this puts the Senate, the Democrats especially, in an interesting state of flux. The Senate HAS to go forward business as usual. However, when you have two Senators missing key votes…

Feinstein missed a key vote Wednesday when the Senate voted 50 to 46 to block a Biden administration rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. She has also missed a pair of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.

The Democrats have to be just spinning on this. Especially given some of the committees that are involved. 

Their absence pointed to the fragility of the Democrats’ narrow 51-49 Senate majority (which includes three independents who caucus with the party).

Although she relinquished her chair on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats hold only an 11-10 majority on that panel, where the minority can slow nominations when membership is evenly divided.

Again, the Senate cannot just stop when two of their members are missing in action, even though Feinstein tried that during Covid. Yet, what this does is deal a blow to many of the Democrat hopes on legislation that will further the Administration’s very progressive agenda. And so, suddenly, Kamala actually has some work to do that REQUIRES her to show up. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is one of two Senate Democrats out with illness, prompting Vice President Kamala Harris to break three tied votes this week. https://t.co/vmTPKHRqGj

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 2, 2023

If all Senators were present, the Democrats held the majority at 51-49. But NOW, with two Democrats out of commission it’s a straight 49-49 match up. Thus, it’s looking like Kamala is going to have to break multiple ties in order to ‘help’ the Democrats prevail on legislation. 

Dianne Feinstein has already indicated she won’t run in 2024. She’s retiring. This after many have indicated their concerns about her overall health.

Her pending retirement puts her seat in play with Katie Porter, Adam Schiff, and Barbara Lee deciding to throw their hats in the ring. Meanwhile, we have no idea who’s on first, second, or third when it comes to John Fetterman. 

Which leaves the Senate in an interesting state of flux for the foreseeable future. 

Feature Photo Credit: Michael Reynolds / Pool Photo