Senator Dianne Feinstein Hospitalized After Minor Fall, Health Issues Raise Questions About Role

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) briefly needed hospitalization after a minor fall in her home in San Francisco and returned home Tuesday night.

Her scans were clear, as per a Daily Mail report that quotes a Feinstein spokesperson. The nonagenarian Senator has battled health issues of late. 

She was absent from the Senate for nearly three months earlier this year, struggling with shingles, Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.

Feinstein's Health Struggles In Focus On Capitol Hill: Feinstein has assigned her power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine, a former San Francisco judge, earlier this week, the New York Times reported Aug. 3. 

Politicians on Capitol Hill have called for the 90-year-old to step down, questioning her mental and physical capacity to serve on the Senate floor.

Feinstein returned to Capitol Hill on May 10 in a wheelchair after a three-month absence as she recuperated from shingles at her home in California.

The shingles spread to her face and neck, causing vision, balance impairments, and facial paralysis, known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Feinstein has refused to retire but indicated her plan not to seek re-election in 2024.

She is the fifth-oldest person to serve in the Senate. She is also among the wealthiest senators, worth an estimated $58 million. Feinstein was married to investment banker Richard Blum from 1980 until he died in 2022.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.