Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) reportedly expressed confusion over Vice President Kamala Harris presiding over the Senate last year, according to the New York Times.
As the president of the Senate, Harris cast several tie-breaking votes in the previous Congress with an evenly divided upper chamber. It was during one of these sessions that Feinstein was unaware as to why she was there.
“What is she doing here?” Feinstein asked, according to the Times. The report cited an unnamed individual who was present at the time of the alleged incident.
Feinstein, 89, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been absent from the Senate dealing with health issues after contracting shingles in February. She returned earlier this month.
Since her return staffers have sought to hide her from the media as she tries to reacclimate herself to her work, according to The Times.
However, concerns about Feinstein’s mental fitness predates her recent health issues.
Four of her former staffers told the San Francisco Chronicle last year that her memory was “rapidly deteriorating.”
“It appears she can no longer fulfill her job duties without her staff doing much of the work required to represent the nearly 40 million people of California,” they said.
Feinstein announced earlier this year that she would not run for reelection in 2024, but she plans to continue serving the remainder of her term.
