Former Senator Barbara Boxer Advises Diane Feinstein About Resignation Call
When Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein were first elected to the U.S. Senate from California in 1992 — a historic victory for a woman — Feinstein sat down with Boxer and told her, The longer you stay, the better you feel and the more you can accomplish. “
Boxer took that advice to heart and stayed there for 24 years before retiring in 2017.
“She was right. There is no doubt about it,” Boxer told the Bay Area Newsgroup on Friday. yeah.”
Feinstein has been unable to do that job for the past two months as the oldest U.S. Senator at 89 is slowly recovering from shingles. She has missed more than 60 of her votes so far this year, and many fellow Democrats, including Bay Area Rep. Law Khanna, are calling for her to resign.
Boxer said it was Feinstein’s decision, but he reached out to people close to the ailing senator, and if she was in Feinstein’s shoes, the doctor and I would call our most trusted colleagues to make the decision. To do. “
However, while admitting it would be difficult for Feinstein to leave because he’s always viewed his job “as a calling,” Boxer didn’t say what the decision should be.
“She loves her job so much, her ability to make a difference. Trust me, I understand. That’s why I say it’s really hard,” Boxer said. “But I think it was Pete Seeger who wrote that everything has seasons… turn, turn, turn.”
Feinstein had already announced that he would not seek a sixth term in 2024. To appease her critics, she announced this week that she was temporarily stepping down from her role on her Judiciary Committee. President Biden’s judicial nomination to federal court. Hours after Khanna tweeted, she made her announcement. She has been in public service all her life, but it is clear that she is no longer capable of that duty. “
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who resigned from her leadership role after Republicans won the House in November, told reporters on Wednesday that the “political agenda” was being pushed by those “who are eyeing Senator Feinstein.” suggested that it might work. I have never seen them chase a sick man like that in the Senate. “
But it takes at least 10 Republicans to approve her replacement on the Judiciary Committee, so Feinstein’s offer to resign may not be enough to move the Senate. “It’s the meanest, meanest kind of hardball, and it’s going to be very disrespectful to the senators,” the boxer said Friday.
Boxer and Feinstein made history together when they were both elected in what came to be known as the “Year of Women” after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ controversial confirmation hearing. His former staff member Anita Hill’s critical testimony was largely downplayed by the male-dominated panel.
California’s two senators are both Democrats, but their philosophies and policies diverged, with Boxer being the more progressive and Feinstein the more moderate. Boxer voted against the Iraq War. Feinstein voted for it. Boxers fought for the salmon fishery. Feinstein fought for water rights in the Central Valley.
Boxer said one night they had dinner together and although they might disagree, “We will do no harm. This partnership is so important to our state that we respect.”
The boxer has exchanged emails and letters with Feinstein, but has not spoken directly to Feinstein since shortly after her husband, Richard Blum, died of cancer at the age of 86 a year ago. Be. “
Boxer said she often spoke to Feinstein about how much she enjoyed her post-Senator life, recently returning from Florida and giving a speech at Planned Parenthood.
Boxer, who left the Senate at age 76, said, “I retired at my best. I was in California doing what I wanted to do, teaching, and speaking. I told her that, but it was me.” I’m Diane.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/04/14/former-sen-barbara-boxer-to-feinstein-i-would-call-the-people-who-love-me-and-make-a-decision/ Former Senator Barbara Boxer Advises Diane Feinstein About Resignation Call