Sen. Dianne Feinstein Appears Confused During Senate Appropriations Hearing, Told To ‘Just Say Aye’

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) seemed to be confused during a vote on a defense appropriations bill on Thursday, leading another Democratic senator to intervene.

The incident occurred during a Senate Appropriations Committee session. Instead of voting either “aye” or “nay,” Feinstein started to give a speech to support the bill: “I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this. It provides $823 billion…”

About 10 seconds into her speech, an aide whispered something into her ear. Committee chair Patty Murray (D-Washington), then said, “Just say aye.”

“Aye,” Feinstein responded.

Later, the California Democrat voted against a bill before she was corrected and switched her decision to “yes.”

A spokesperson for the senator said that the day “was a little chaotic” as members attempted to finish their work on funding bills before departing for a six-week break. “The senator was preoccupied, didn’t realize debate had just ended and a vote was called,” the spokesperson stated. “She started to give a statement, was informed it was a vote and then cast her vote.”

Earlier this year, Feinstein hit back at reports citing several anonymous lawmakers who questioned her ability to continue serving. In February, she had to take a leave of absence from work for months due to a severe instance of shingles.

Feinstein was the subject of calls to resign from office during her time away due to her giving up the key vote on the Judiciary Committee. The panel’s 11-10 Democratic majority went down to a 10-10 deadlock without her. The remaining Democrats made an effort to replace Feinstein temporarily with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), but Senate Republicans stymied the attempt.

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In total, Feinstein was absent for 91 votes while recovering from shingles. When she returned to work in May, reporters discovered that Feinstein, in addition to shingles, had Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which occurs when shingles spread to the head and neck. She also had encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain.

The fitness of some of the Senate’s oldest members has been in question this week. On Wednesday, July 26, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, appeared to freeze up while in the middle of a press conference and was subsequently led away from the scene.

Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and is its oldest current member. She has stated in the past that she plans to retire at the end of 2024.