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- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly told Sen. Diane Feinstein, the oldest member of the US Senate, to step aside as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, according to a new report from the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.
- Feinstein whose mental capacity has been questioned recently forgot the first conversation, sources told the New Yorker.
- She recently announced that she’d be stepping down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly spoke with Sen. Diane Feinstein twice to ask her to step aside from her leadership role on the Judiciary Committee on her own, but she forgot the first conversation, sources aware of the exchange told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.
Feinstein had recently announced that she would be stepping down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after she faced backlash from progressives for not being aggressive enough in the hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
The US Senator from California, who is the oldest member of the Senate, was also mocked online after she asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey the same question twice during a hearing last month, prompting conversation on her mental capacity.
Schumer wanted Feinstein to step aside from the committee on her own accord to preserve her dignity, according to Mayer’s report. Feinstein forgot the initial conversation with Schumer which prompted him to speak with her on the topic again, the report said. Efforts were also made to enlist her husband, Richard Blum for help, the New Yorker reported.
One source told the New Yorker that Feinstein "wasn't really all that aware of the extent to which she'd been compromised," and that "it was hurtful and distressing to have it pointed out."
Other aides told the New Yorker that Feinstein was "struggling" and having a hard time retaining short term memory.
Neither Feinstein's nor Schumer's office responded to Business Insider's request for comment at the time of publication.