Dianne Feinstein misstep in key Senate committee raises more questions on lawmakers’ ages

For at least the second time in a week, Democratic colleagues had to prod Sen. Dianne Feinstein on how to vote in a committee meeting, once again raising questions about her fitness for office and whether elected officials should be subject to an age limit.

In Thursday during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the California Democrat failed to cast a vote until directed by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, the committee chair.

Feinstein, 90, didn’t initially respond when prompted to say “aye” or “nay regarding a defense spending bill.

“Say aye,” Murray, the committee’s chairwoman, encouraged three times.

Feinstein started to read from prepared remarks before an aide whispered to stop her.

Another back-and-forth between Murray and Feinstein ensued, with the California Democrat seemingly questioning what to do.

Feinstein then sat back and said, “aye.”

The episode comes a day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 81, froze mid-sentence during a press conference for about 20 seconds before being pulled away by Republican colleagues. About 12 minutes later, he returned, claiming he was fine in response to a question about his health.

An aide later told CNN that McConnell felt “lightheaded” for a moment.

The Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful, is in charge of funding the government and related projects. The panel is powering through all of the annual bills to fund the government for the next fiscal year before leaving for an August break.

A Feinstein spokesperson said of the incident that “the committee markup this morning was a little chaotic, constantly switching back and forth between statements, votes, and debate and the order of bills. The senator was preoccupied, didn’t realize debate had just ended and a vote was called. She started to give a statement, was informed it was a vote and then cast her vote.”

Last Thursday in a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which vets candidates for the federal bench and legislation connected to the legal sphere, Feinstein slipped up by accidentally voting for a Republican amendment to a Democrat-backed Supreme Court ethics bill.

The Republican amendment was a actually a bipartisan effort originally introduced outside of the committee to bar stock trading for members of Congress that Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tried to attach to the Supreme Court bill. The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee explained that his party should vote against the amendment since it was tangential to the Supreme Court bill.

Feinstein accidentally voted for it. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee’s chairman, corrected her. She quickly switched to a “no” vote.

Age and politics

Feinstein earlier this year said she would not run for re-election again in 2024, kickstarting a race between multiple House Democrats to succeed her.

She has been followed closely by Capitol Hill reporters and lawmakers since she returned from a prolonged health-related absence in May. She had been diagnosed with shingles on February 26 and was hospitalized until March 7.

When she returned in May, she was still dealing with some side effects though she is stronger now, her office said. She has been pushed around the U.S. Capitol in a wheelchair, often hounded by reporters about her age and mental fitness.

Other younger politicians too have to correct their votes from time to time. Her every misstep is documented.

Her challenges are part of a broader debate about elected officials and age. The current president, Joe Biden,is the oldest in U.S. history at 80, and the median age of senators is 65. Every flub provokes a national conversation about a legislator’s age and capability to hold office.

Like Feinstein, McConnell, too, was absent from the Senate for a time this year after he had suffered a concussion this spring. The Kentucky Republican was gone for about five weeks between March and April while he recovered from a fall in Washington, D.C.

He has fallen several times this year, according to multiple reports, and frequently uses a wheelchair at airports.

Later Wednesday, McConnell told CBS News outside the Senate chamber that he got “sandbagged” during the press conference — joking about when President Joe Biden tripped over a sandbag onstage at the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement last month.

“The president called to check on me,” McConnell said. “I told him I got sandbagged.”

Biden has taken flack for his age in several moments. Following the commencement, news outlets reported about the shorter staircase he uses to avoid tripping up or down. The president, who is running again in 2024, has been criticized for taking few direct questions from reporters.

The White House has repeatedly pushed back about concerns regarding Biden’s age and health.

A CBS News/YouGov survey conducted last year found 73% of people in the U.S. support some form of maximum age limit for elected officials, with 70 being the most-favored limit. The survey collected answers from 2,085 adults in the U.S. over the course of three days last August.