Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced she will not run for re-election in 2024, and will be retiring at the end of her current term. "I intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends," Feinstein said in a press release that highlighted her past accomplishments while promising to "still pass bills that will improve lives" with her remaining year in office.
Feinstein's announcement ends longtime speculation over whether the Senate's oldest current member would run for re-election, and comes amid reports of precipitous mental decline that has allegedly impacted her ability to legislate. While Feinstein and her backers have adamantly denied any cognitive issues, a number of high-profile California Democrats, including Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, had nevertheless already launched their own campaigns for her still-occupied seat in recent weeks, preempting Tuesday's announcement on the presumption that she wouldn't run.
"I campaigned in 2018 on several priorities for California and the nation: preventing and combating wildfires, mitigating the effects of record-setting drought, responding to the homelessness crisis, and ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care," Feinstein noted in her press release. "Congress has enacted legislation on all of these topics over the past several years, but more needs to be done — and I will continue these efforts."
Feinstein's more than 30 years in the Senate have been peppered with historic firsts, including her being the first woman senator from California, the first Jewish woman senator, the first woman to sit on the Judiciary Committee, and the first woman to chair the Intelligence Committee.