Feinstein’s Absence Complicates Democrats’ Path to 5 Biden Goals

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s extended absence from the Senate has the potential to complicate more issues than President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. It threatens other crucial parts of his agenda, including a Cabinet pick and a potential debt deal.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Tuesday he hopes Feinstein is back in the Senate “soon.” But her office has not given an estimated return date for the 89-year-old Democrat as she recovers from complications from shingles in California.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been absent from the Senate because of illness.

Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg

Democrats currently hold at 51-49 majority, when independents who caucus or regularly vote with the party are counted.

“We’re constantly ...