It’s no secret that there are thousands of nameless, faceless bureaucrats pulling strings behind the curtain in Washington, D.C.
But that obviously causes concern over who is really making the decisions that impact the lives of 325 million Americans and the world at large.
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) reaction to her own retirement announcement has Democrats in chaos.
At 89 years old, Senator Feinstein is the oldest elected official in Washington, D.C.
And as a result, questions over when she would announce her retirement from the Senate have lingered for years now.
In fact, even though she had yet announce whether or not she would run for re-election in 2024, two other Democrats – radical left-wing Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) – announced their intention to run for her seat.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even went so far as to endorse Rep. Schiff before Senator Feinstein had made clear what she was planning to do.
Nevertheless, last week, Feinstein’s Senate office released a statement announcing her retirement, complete with quotes from the Senator herself.
“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said, according to the statement.
However, that statement didn’t exactly settle the matter.
That’s because a short while after it was released, National Journal Senate correspondent Savannah Behrmann ran into Senator Feinstein and asked her about the statement.
And to the shock of many, Feinstein reacted to the question with total surprise, and claimed she had not made that decision or released any statement.
“I haven’t made that decision,” Feinstein said. “I haven’t released anything.”
A staffer accompanying the Senator interjected, though, and informed her, “We put out the statement.”
“You put out the statement?” a shocked Feinstein replied. “I didn’t know they put it out.”
Of course, Senator Feinstein’s confused reaction isn’t actually anything new, and over the past year or so has merely been par for the course.
“When a California Democrat in Congress recently engaged in an extended conversation with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, they prepared for a rigorous policy discussion like those they’d had with her many times over the last 15 years,” The San Francisco Chronicle reported. “Instead, the lawmaker said, they had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein multiple times during an interaction that lasted several hours.”
“Rather than delve into policy, Feinstein, 88, repeated the same small-talk questions, like asking the lawmaker what mattered to voters in their district, the member of Congress said, with no apparent recognition the two had already had a similar conversation,” the report continued.
But while it’s apparently been clear to those around her that Senator Feinstein’s mental capacity has been deteriorating for some time now, she’s continued holding her position in the Senate, and apparently will continue to do so for almost two more years.
Yet, based on her reaction to her own retirement announcement and reports like that from The San Francisco Chronicle, it seems as though her ability to actually perform her job is nonexistent.
Feinstein on her retirement: “I haven’t made that decision. I haven't released anything.”
Staffer: “We put out the statement.”
Feinstein: “You put out the statement? I didn't know they put it out.”
— Savannah Behrmann (@SavBehrmannDC) February 14, 2023
Which then leads to the obvious question – who is pulling the strings behind the curtain for Feinstein? Who is making the decisions on how she votes on crucial issues that will impact not only 325 million Americans, but the entire world?
The answer is, no one actually knows.
And that should absolutely terrify every American, regardless of party.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
