Dianne Feinstein Returns to Senate After Health-Related Absence.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, is returning to the Senate after a three-month absence due to hospitalization for shingles. Her absence threatened to deprive her party of the ability to advance President Biden’s judicial nominees. Her return will restore a Democratic majority to the Judiciary Committee, where Democrats were becoming increasingly concerned about their limited ability to move forward with judicial nominations. Some Democrats had called for her resignation, but she defended her absence, saying that there was “no slowdown” of judicial confirmations and that she plans to finish out her term.