Barbara Lee won’t join Democrat calls for Feinstein to resign

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) on Sunday wouldn’t join her fellow Democrats’ in calling for the resignation of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who Lee is running to replace.

“I have said over and over and over again that I, first of all, I’m most concerned about Senator Feinstein’s health. She’s back at work and she’s doing her job,” Lee said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Feinstein, who announced in February that she’s retiring at the end of her current Senate term, was absent from Congress for several weeks earlier this year as she battled shingles and complications from the disease. The longtime senator is now facing calls to resign amid concerns about her ability to fulfill her duties including the inability of the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm judges appointed by President Biden.

Among those calling for Feinstein’s resignation is Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is co-chair of Lee’s campaign to replace Feinstein.

Host Jake Tapper pressed Lee on the matter on Sunday, asking whether Khanna speaks for her with his repeated calls for the senator to step aside. 

“I respect … my friend, Congressman Ro Khanna. I’m speaking for myself when I say that I hope that Senator Feinstein continues to improve,” Lee said.

“[Feinstein] is back in Washington, D.C., and she is doing her job, and what I am doing is talking to voters and putting forth my record, my experience, my lived experiences and connecting with people so that people understand that I’m going to be fighting continuously for them, or better life for everyone,” the California lawmaker said.