Feinstein should resign, New York Times Editorial Board says

The New York Times Editorial Board called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign from the upper chamber on Friday if she continues to remain sidelined from Senate business, having been away from Washington since late February due to illness.

The board wrote that despite Feinstein’s distinguished three-decade Senate career, her ongoing battle with shingles that has kept her away from Washington for more than two months is forcing Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y..) — to make “a painful choice.”

“If she cannot fulfill her obligations to the Senate and to her constituents, she should resign and turn over her responsibilities to an appointed successor,” the board wrote. “If she is unable to reach that decision on her own, Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators should make it clear to her and the public how important it is that she do so.”

The Times added that the call coincides with a stretch where “vital legislation and judicial nominations are hanging on a knife’s edge.”