Analysis-Feinstein's death poses two big questions for US Senate Democrats
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The death of trailblazing U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein presented her fellow Democrats with two key questions on Friday: Who will replace her in the chamber and who will take her seat on the committee that approves federal judges.
The answer to the first question is easy: California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will name a successor, who he has promised will be a Black woman.
Filling the 90-year-old lawmaker's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee touches one of the most critical levers of partisan power in Washington and will require cooperation from Republicans.
Democrats' majority in the chamber has temporarily shrunk by one, to 50-49, following the death of Feinstein, who had been sidelined for a month earlier this year by a bout of shingles.
The vacancy should not pose an immediate problem for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a standoff with House of Representatives Republicans over the looming government shutdown, since the Senate is advancing a bipartisan bill to keep agencies funded, which cleared a procedural hurdle on Thursday in a 76-22 vote.
«Earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate,» an emotional Schumer said on Friday.
EYES ON NEWSOM
Newsom, a rising star in the Democratic Party, has the authority to name a successor to fill Feinstein's seat through the end of her term in January 2025. He is virtually certain to name a Democrat and has said the candidate will be a Black woman who does not plan to run in the November 2024 election for a full six-year term.
«There is simply nobody who possessed the poise, gravitas and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein,» Newsom said. Newsom did not respond to a request for further comment.
Feinstein in February said
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