Washington Democrats Struggle to Keep Feinstein’s Declining Health a Secret

Washington, DC, Democrats are struggling to keep Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA), who is 88-years-old, declining mental health a secret, according to the New York Times.

Feinstein — the Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member when the Democrats were in the minority party in the previous congress, then was forced by her caucus leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to step down — has recently struggled to recall names of colleagues as well as meeting and conversations.

On Capitol Hill, among Democrats and Republicans, it has been “widely” but also “always privately” accepted that Feinstein is suffering from “acute short-term memory issues.”

The Time noted:

At 88, Ms. Feinstein sometimes struggles to recall the names of colleagues, frequently has little recollection of meetings or telephone conversations, and at times walks around in a state of befuddlement — including about why she is increasingly dogged by questions about whether she is fit to serve in the Senate representing the 40 million residents of California, according to half a dozen lawmakers and aides who spoke about the situation on the condition of anonymity.

…

Ms. Feinstein is often engaged during meetings and phone conversations, usually coming prepared and taking notes. But hours later, she will often have forgotten those interactions, said the people familiar with the situation, who insisted that they not be named because they did not want to be quoted disparaging a figure they respect.

One Democrat lawmaker who spoke with the Times on having close encounters with Feinstein in February said that it was “akin to acting as a caregiver for a person in need of constant assistance” and the person “recalled having to reintroduce themself to the senator multiple times, helping her locate her purse repeatedly, and answering the same set of basic, small-talk questions over and over again.” – READ MORE