‘There was no stopping her from getting it done.’ Feinstein’s final vote reflected who she was
Dianne Feinstein’s last vote as a U.S. senator, just hours before she died at her Washington home, was a reminder of all she was during her 31-year Senate career.
She walked into the chamber, without the wheelchair she’d used since she returned in May from a long illness, and joined Republicans and Democrats to help prevent much of the federal government from shutting down Sunday.
Feinstein almost always voted with her fellow Democrats. But like so many other veteran senators, she could swallow a compromise if it kept the system working.
Her Thursday vote didn’t include all the funding for the Ukraine war that President Joe Biden sought, nor did it have the full disaster aid.
But she got much of what she wanted, and kept the system functioning.
“Dianne Feinstein would typically say when you asked her how was she voting on something, let me study this issue before taking a position,’’’ recalled Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
“‘Let me go home and read on it.’ And when she came back, if she believed the cause of the vote was right and vital to many issues she cared about, she not only voted for it, there was no stopping her from getting it done,” he said.
The vote on keeping the government running would be the only one Feinstein took this week. The Senate had returned to work Tuesday night, and took four votes between then and Thursday.
Her office continued to issue statements regularly. Before her death, there was one praising the State Department decision to waive visa requirements for Americans traveling to and from Israel.
But Senate logs suggest she was somewhat active until the end. On her last day, she co-sponsored legislation to make it easier for young people to vote. ”
Feinstein didn’t say much publicly this year. She was absent from the Senate from February to mid-May, missing 91 votes. When she returned, she was in a wheelchair and sometimes seemed confused.
She would speak at times to reporters but rarely say much in committee hearings or on the Senate floor. In July, there was an awkward moment in the Senate Appropriations Committee when she seemed confused about a vote on a defense spending bill.
“Just say aye,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., gently advised her.
Perhaps a more fitting coda was what was to be her last Senate speech in November. As mayor of San Francisco, and as a senator, she helped lead fights for gay rights.
Last fall, she spoke in support of the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in December.
“I have spent decades advocating for equality,” she told the Senate. “As a supervisor and mayor of San Francisco during the height of the gay rights movement, I witnessed the terrible pain and trauma that resulted from hateful discrimination.” Feinstein became mayor in 1978 after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to office in California.
“I watched firsthand as the LGBT community fought for legal recognition of their lives, their relationships and their personal dignity. We cannot return to a system that allows bigotry and hate,” Feinstein said.
“Bigotry and discrimination have no place in this society,” she said. “No one should have to live not knowing whether their marriage will suddenly become invalid. This bill will give families the peace of mind and security that comes with knowing their valid marriages will remain legally protected under federal law.”
Colleagues say goodbye
Since the senator returned from an absence in May, reporters would flock to her, constantly questioning her mental fitness as staff wheeled her between votes and her colorful Senate hideaway office adorned with watercolors of flowers and birds she had painted.
Colleagues showcased watercolors Feinstein had given them while praising their former colleague Friday. For Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a pot of yellow flowers that have hung in her office since Feinstein gave it to her many years ago; for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, red ones.
“Our most recent meeting was a glass of wine in her hideaway a week ago,” Gillibrand told colleagues. “We talked about what issues could we work on together.”
Those issues were homelessness and affordable housing, which Gillibrand said they agreed to start working on legislation for those together.
“She didn’t stop working while she was here just because she had health issues,” she said.
“It’s hanging at home in Los Angeles,” Padilla said of Feinstein painting during a heartfelt speech on the Senate floor. “My wife’s favorite.”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., blasted reporters’ treatment of Feinstein during her final months. Fetterman rebounded from a stroke to win the Senate seat and too had a prolonged absence this spring while being treated for depression.
“Let’s make sure that there should be dignity for those kinds of individuals,” he told reporters at the Capitol.
Often, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Christine could be seen wheeling Feinstein around.
Pelosi, like Feinstein a veteran of San Francisco’s political wars, choked up when talking to reporters on the Capitol steps Friday.
“It’s a sad day for all of us,” she said.
Former Rep. Jane Harman, a California congressional colleague for years, spent Thursday afternoon looking through photos at Feinstein’s home, CNN reported. They talked about the future, and Feinstein showed Harman her schedule.
The senator was said to be pleased her daughter Katherine was going to visit.
Harman and Feinstein took a picture. Feinstein smiled, looking happy as she embraced her old friend.
“I want everyone to remember Dianne this way: strong, elegant,” Harman said.
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 12:25 PM.
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