California Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate on Wednesday after a two and a half-month absence due to shingles.
She missed the Senate's first votes on Wednesday morning but arrived outside the Senate in a car for an afternoon vote, helped into the wheelchair by aides and greeted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with a handshake and affectionate pat on the back.
Feinstein's return after 10 weeks away from the Senate gives Democrats a better cushion as they navigate their narrow 51-49 majority. She had asked Schumer to temporarily replace her on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where some of Biden's judicial nominations have stalled without her tie-breaking vote. But that request last month, giving Democrats few options to move those nominees – and important bills, like a potential debt package – unless she returned or resigned.
In her statement, Feinstein said that the"most pressing" issue facing the Senate is to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default."I also look forward to resuming my work on the Judiciary Committee considering the president's judicial nominees," she said. She had asked for the replacement after Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on her to resign from the Senate, saying it was"unacceptable" for her to miss votes to confirm judges who could be weighing in on abortion rights, a key Democratic priority.
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