Pelosi Working Behind the Scenes to Keep Dianne Feinstein In Senate to Help Adam Schiff’s 2024 Bid: Report

Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca/Sipa USA via AP Images

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) continued tenure in the Senate despite obvious and troubling signs of severe mental decline is being propped up by longtime ally Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), according to a report in Politico.

Feinstein, who will turn 90 next month, was hospitalized in February with shingles. She returned to the Senate last week after an absence of nearly three months. On Tuesday, she appeared to be completely unaware she had missed any time.

When a reporter asked about her absence, she replied, “No, I haven’t been gone.” The senator was then asked if she meant she had been working from home. She insisted, “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please. You either know or don’t know.”

Feinstein is not seeking reelection in 2024, but has so far resisted calls to resign – to the extent she has any such agency.

Pelosi, the former speaker, has dispatched her eldest daughter, Nancy Carinne Prowda to stay close to Feinstein’s side in the halls of Congress, per Thursday’s edition of Politico’s Playbook, which said the unanimous consensus is that this is a strategic decision by the former speaker ahead of the 2024 election. The palace intrigue involves Pelosi, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Reps. Adam Schiff (D) and Barbara Lee (D), both of whom are running for Feinstein’s seat in 2024:

By all accounts, the arrangement is rooted in a long and friendly relationship between Feinstein and the Pelosis — twin pillars of San Francisco politics. But among some of those who are aware, it has also raised uncomfortable questions about whether Nancy Pelosi’s political interests are in conflict with Feinstein’s personal interests.

The intrigue surrounds the future of Feinstein’s seat. Pelosi has endorsed Rep. ADAM SCHIFF, her longtime protege and former hand-picked House Intelligence Committee chair, to succeed Feinstein after her sixth and final term ends next year. Schiff is a household name in California and already has a $15 million campaign cash advantage over his nearest competitor.

But if Feinstein were to bow to pressure and retire early, Schiff’s advantage could disappear. Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM has pledged to appoint a Black woman to serve out her term, and one of Schiff’s declared opponents, Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.), would fit the bill.

It’s worth pointing out that Lee is not the only Black woman Newsom could appoint to fulfill his pledge.

“If DiFi resigns right now, there is an enormous probability that Barbara Lee gets appointed — thus, it makes it harder for Schiff,” a Pelosi ally told Politico, adding the arrangement with Pelosi, Prowda, and Feinstein is “being kept under wraps and very, very closely held.”

A spokesperson for Pelosi’s office denied anything untoward is happening.

“Anyone who knows Senator Feinstein knows that her service in the Senate is entirely her own decision, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi would never suggest otherwise,” the spox said.

Politico noted that neither Feinstein’s nor Pelosi’s office responded to questions about whether Prowda is living with the senator.

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com