GOP blocks attempt to put Feinstein substitute on Judiciary – JP

Judiciary Chair Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, who is also the majority whip, said the next step is  “really up to Senator Feinstein.”

Some Democrats, including California Rep. Ro Khanna, called for Feinstein to resign when it became clear she would not return from the Easter/Passover recess. She offered to temporarily step aside from Judiciary in response.

“They want her to resign. I mean, they forced her out of the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. “They’re trying to force her to resign. You’ve got the congressman from her own state calling on her to resign. I mean, they’re trying to force her out of office, which is, you know, really, I think unseemly.”

Khanna is supporting the 2024 Senate campaign of Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee for the seat Feinstein already plans to retire from at the end of this Congress.

Schumer said after Tuesday’s Democratic caucus lunch that Durbin and members of the committee were also considering what to do about the current requirement that home-state senators return blue slips for district court nominees in order for the committee to take them up. It has not always been enforced in the past, and Durbin is under pressure to disregard the tradition going forward.