If Feinstein Resigns, Democrats Can Replace Her on Key Senate Panel: Graham

Hold on to your hats, folks! There’s some political drama brewing in the Senate. According to a top Republican senator, Democrats could regain a majority on a key Senate committee if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) resigns.

Feinstein has been away from Washington for months due to a bout with shingles, leaving Democrats with the same number of votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee as Republicans. The GOP rejected an effort to temporarily replace the Californian, but if Feinstein, who is 89, steps down, Democrats would be able to replace her, says Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“If she does resign, I would be in the camp of following the precedent of the Senate replacing the person, consistent with what we have done in the past,” Graham, the ranking member of the judiciary panel, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

But don’t count Feinstein out just yet. Despite calls for her resignation from dozens of groups in California, she has resisted so far and has not said when she will return to Washington.

Votes for Biden Nominees

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is nominating candidates for judicial vacancies, and the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering each one. A simple majority advances a candidate to the next stage.