Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was hospitalized in San Francisco on Thursday for shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash.
“I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery,” the elderly senator said in a statement, according to NBC News. “I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”
Feinstein, who is nearly 90 years old, has been a member of the U.S. Senate for three decades. Her office put out a statement on Twitter last month saying she was not seeking re-election; however, when asked about her decision to retire, Feinstein appeared confused by the question and denied having made any such announcement.
One of Feinstein’s staffers had to inform her that they “put out the statement” on her retirement, to which the senator reportedly responded, “You put out the statement? I didn’t know they put it out.”
Feinstein’s announcement of her retirement has set up a heated race to replace her, with several Democrat candidates already running for the seat, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Feinstein is not the only lawmaker who has been sidelined by medical concerns in recent weeks. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) remains hospitalized after checking himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February for clinical depression. He had also been briefly hospitalized for lightheadedness – all of which followed him suffering what he described as a near-fatal stroke months before his election last year.
Since his latest hospitalization, Fetterman has been a co-sponsor on six Senate bills, according to Congress.gov. He has also joined two colleagues in signing an open letter calling for accountability from Norfolk Southern over the recent toxic train derailment in Ohio.
