Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced Thursday that she was hospitalized and receiving treatment for shingles, hoping to return to Washington later this month, CNN reported.
“I was diagnosed over the February recess with a case of shingles,” Feinstein, 89, said in her statement. “I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery. I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”
Feinstein, 89, is currently the oldest sitting member of the upper chamber and the longest-serving senator from her state, first elected to the Senate in 1992. She has worked under five presidential administrations and alongside the two presidents who also served with her in the Senate: Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Feinstein announced several weeks ago that she would not seek reelection in 2024. In April 2022, she pushed back against a news report citing multiple anonymous colleagues expressing worry that she was mentally unfit to serve. As recently as December, she was still conveying publicly she had no plans to retire.
CNN noted that her absence could influence Democratic strategy in the chamber as the Democratic Caucus controls the Senate by a 51-49 margin, and Sen. John Fetterman has also been hospitalized since last month for treatment for depression.