Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board on Thursday evening, after a report published earlier in the day called into question her mental fitness for office, the Chronicle writes.
"I meet regularly with leaders," Feinstein said, in defense of her performance. "I'm not isolated. I see people. My attendance is good. I put in the hours. We represent a huge state. And so I'm rather puzzled by all of this."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Thursday morning, the Chronicle shared the accounts of multiple Feinstein colleagues, who worry the 88-year-old lawmaker's short-term memory is deteriorating. Those interviewed also raised concerns about her resulting ability to represent the massive state of California.
Feinstein declined to be interviewed for that article, the Chronicle said.
In her call with the board, Feinstein said no one had discussed such concerns with her directly.
"No, that conversation has not happened," she said. "The real conversation is whether I'm an effective representative for 40 million people."
The New Yorker published similar reporting on Feinstein's short-term memory in 2020.
-
The UK’s ‘wallaby boom’Under the Radar The Australian marsupial has ‘colonised’ the Isle of Man and is now making regular appearances on the UK mainland
-
Fast food is no longer affordable to low-income AmericansThe explainer Cheap meals are getting farther out of reach
-
‘The money to fix this problem already exists’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points A proposed one-time levy would shore up education and Medicaid
