A new book claims that Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California once confused two of her black colleagues for each other.
The book – “The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind” – by Ben Tellis, a style writer for The Washington Post, describes an incident in 2021 shortly after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a black man, had been elected to office. Feinstein allegedly mistook her Republican colleague, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is also a black man, for Warnock.
“I had heard a story that fit the theme, from another Senate staffer. About a year earlier, Feinstein had approached Senator Tim Scott, stuck out her hand, and told him she had been rooting for him and was so happy to have him serving with her in the Senate. It was obvious to Scott and the staffers in tow that Feinstein had mistaken the South Carolinian for Raphael Warnock, the newly elected Democratic senator from Georgia. Scott had played along,” Tellis writes in his book, an excerpt of which was published in Politico.
Dianne Feinstein, 89, returns to the Senate after being absent since February and recovering from shingles pic.twitter.com/FcMJr7ddni
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 10, 2023
Tellis adds that “Scott had played along.”
“Thank you so much,” he had told Feinstein, according to the staffer who told me about the incident. “Your support means a lot.”
Scott has served in the Senate since 2013, being Feinstein’s colleague in the 100-member chamber for over a decade.
Feinstein, 89, returned to the Capitol this week after being absent from the Senate for 10 weeks, following a diagnosis of shingles from which she was recovering in California. During this time, she missed all votes in the Senate, which enabled Senate Republicans to pass partisan measures despite Democrats holding a majority, such as a regulation on emissions by heavy-duty vehicles.
Feinstein’s absence also prevented Democrats from advancing judicial nominees to Senate floor votes. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein’s absence led to votes on several nominees within the committee being deadlocked at 10-10, which prevented their advancement.
An effort to replace Feinstein on the committee by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland failed after Republicans objected to the replacement.
Feinstein’s health issues have spurred calls from several Democrats for her resignation from the Senate, arguing that she is mentally unfit to serve. These include prominent California Democrats, such as Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents a San Francisco Bay Area district, with Feinstein also hailing from the same area.
Feinstein, Scott and Warnock have been contacted with requests for comment.
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