Sen. Dianne Feinstein briefly hospitalized after fall, spokesperson says

By Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox, CNN

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was hospitalized for a short while Tuesday after a fall, in keeping with a spokesperson, the newest in a string of well being points for the US Senate’s oldest member.

“Senator Feinstein briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her house,” the spokesperson mentioned in a press release. “All of her scans had been clear and she or he returned house.”

TMZ first reported Feinstein’s fall.

Issues for the 90-year-old Californian’s well being have grown previously yr, after her hospitalization for shingles in February led to an prolonged absence from the Senate. When Feinstein returned to Capitol Hill in Might, her workplace confirmed that she had suffered a number of problems throughout her restoration from shingles, together with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.

“Whereas the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was launched from the hospital in March, she continues to have problems from Ramsay Hunt syndrome,” a spokesperson instructed CNN on the time.

She has additionally appeared confused at occasions, disputing the size of her absence and her diagnoses. Feinstein instructed CNN that she didn’t have encephalitis, noting, “It actually has by no means been identified correctly,” and calling it, “actually a nasty flu.”

Throughout a Senate Appropriations Committee listening to on the finish of July, Feinstein needed to be prompted to vote “aye” by Chairwoman Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat. When it was the Californian’s flip to vote, she started to learn her ready remarks, earlier than an aide stopped her and Murray instructed her “simply say ‘aye.’”

Her workplace instructed CNN after the listening to, “Making an attempt to finish the entire appropriations payments earlier than recess, the committee markup this morning was just a little chaotic, continually switching forwards and backwards between statements, votes, and debate and the order of payments.”

The workplace added, “The senator was preoccupied, didn’t understand debate had simply ended and a vote was referred to as. She began to offer a press release, was knowledgeable it was a vote after which solid her vote.”

Some Democrats – largely within the Home – have overtly referred to as on her to resign. In Might, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York mentioned Feinstein “ought to retire. I believe criticisms of that stance as ‘anti-feminist’ are a farce,” in a publish on the social media platform Bluesky.