Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is adding her voice to scattered calls from other Democrats for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to resign from her Senate seat.
Ocasio-Cortez, a leading House progressive with a massive social media following, said the 89-year-old California democrat “should retire,” adding that “criticisms of that stance as ‘anti-feminist’ are a farce.”
“Her refusal to either retire or show up is causing great harm to the judiciary – precisely where repro rights are getting stripped. That failure means now in this precious window Dems can only pass GOP-approved nominees,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Bluesky, a new social media app, according to CNN.
Ocasio-Cortez joins other leading progressives with her stance. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was the first Democratic lawmaker to call for Feinstein to step down, followed closely by the more moderate Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).
They have expressed deep concerns over what Feinstein’s prolonged absence means for judicial nominees. Feinstein sits on the Judiciary Committee, which without her is deadlocked 10-10 and unable to advance nominees without GOP support.
Feinstein has been away from the Capitol for two months due to a long recovery process from shingles.
