(Headline USA) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appeared unaware that she had announced her retirement this week, telling reporters on Thursday that she hadn’t yet made a decision about whether to seek reelection just hours after her office announced she would not run again in 2024.
Asked by reporters about her announcement to retire, Feinstein reportedly said, “I haven’t made that decision, I haven’t released anything.”
A staffer then told Feinstein that her office had already released her statement announcing her retirement.
Feinstein responded, “You put out the statement? I didn’t know they put it out.”
She then told reporters, “It is what it is. I think the time has come.”
Another report, which included an audio clip of Feinstein speaking, suggests Feinstein wasn’t aware that she was retiring at all.
“Oh, no, I’m not announcing anything. I will one day,” Feinstein said only an hour after her retirement was announced.
Feinstein’s office tried to downplay the senator’s confusion in a statement.
“The senator approved it going out today, just confusion on timing. The senator was out of the office for votes, a meeting, lunch and more votes when the announcement was sent,” a spokesperson said.
Democrats have been trying to pressure Feinstein into retiring for the past several months. Two Democrats have already announced their campaigns for her Senate seat, even though she had not confirmed whether she plans to step down until just this week.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., announced his campaign on Jan. 26, just a few weeks after Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., announced hers.
“I’ve always believed that what’s right matters, that the truth matters, and that decency matters. And when a dangerous demagogue tried to undermine our democracy, I wasn’t about to let him,” Schiff said in a statement, referring to Democrats’ first impeachment effort against former President Donald Trump, over which Schiff presided.
