Feinstein says he plans to serve the full term after Newsom vows to appoint a black woman to replace her

Feinstein says he plans to serve the full term after Newsom vows to appoint a black woman to replace her

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“There is nothing about it,” Feinstein told CNN on Tuesday about the Democratic governor’s statements. “No,” she said when asked if she would retire before the end of her six-year term, which is due to expire at the end of 2024. “I haven’t discussed this with anyone, no one has asked me about it.”

“We are very good friends. I don’t think he meant it the way some people think,” said Feinstein when asked about the governor’s comments. The senator added: “You are turning a small hill into a mountain.”

When she entered the Senate chamber on Tuesday, Feinstein said “you will have to ask him” why Newsom said he already has names in mind to replace her.

Despite her position within the party, Feinstein has faced growing questions about her ability to do her job, losing her position as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after her fellow Democrats particularly complained about her performance during the confirmation hearings at the Senate. Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment to the Supreme Court last year. If she had held that position, she would have been the first woman to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee. But after discussions with Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer, Feinstein agreed to step aside from the powerful post, paving the way for Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois to rise to the presidency.

Feinstein rejected suggestions that she is not able to do her job, telling CNN on Tuesday that she feels “absolutely” capable of serving fully in her position, adding, “I think it’s pretty obvious.

Newsom, which faces a recall campaign, told MSNBC on Monday that it had “several names in mind” for black women he would nominate to replace her until a special election was scheduled.

Newsom recently appointed former California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to sit on the Senate seat of Vice President Kamala Harris, choosing the first Latin in the state’s history for the post. The governor was under intense pressure to choose a black woman to replace Harris, due to the lack of diversity in the United States Senate.

Prominent black officials advocated that Newsom choose Congresswoman Karen Bass of California, then President of Congressional Black Caucus, or Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Some social justice groups, including Black Lives Matter, continued to pressure Newsom not to choose Congressman Adam Schiff to the state’s attorney general, hoping that the appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, will be confirmed.

Newsom said on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday that she “has no expectation” that Feinstein will “walk away” and said she is “lucid and focused” and “committed to the cause of fighting not just for our own state as a representative and senior senator from California, but from this nation. ”

In December, Feinstein defended his service, telling CNN when asked if she feels she is still capable of fulfilling her obligations: “Yes. I work a lot. I have a good team. I think I am productive. And I represent the people of California as well as I do. I possibly can. “

CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Alex Rogers contributed to this report.

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