Gavin Newsom just threw Dianne Feinstein under the bus to save his own skin
If you must stab a politician friend in the back, you might as well do it on the Ides of March. That’s the date in 44 B.C. when a group of Roman senators dispatched Julius Caesar.
Caesar’s fictional last words — “et tu, Brute?” — must ring true for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who now finds herself publicly betrayed by a longtime friend, Gov. Gavin Newsom. During an MSNBC interview on March 15, Newsom promised to appoint a Black woman to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat if she resigns.
“I have multiple names in mind,” Newsom told host Joy Reid.
The announcement’s main purpose: to secure Newsom’s political base as he faces a likely recall election. He disappointed key allies in January when he declined to replace Kamala Harris with a Black woman. Now, there are no Black women in the U.S. Senate.
By dangling Feinstein’s seat, Newsom hopes to shore up support as he enters a challenging year. The only problem: Feinstein has four years left in this term. Of course, progressive Democrats have been pushing her to retire early. Newsom’s announcement will only increase the pressure.
Demands for Feinstein’s resignation reached a fever pitch in November after a brutal but fair story by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer. The piece quoted anonymous Senate sources, including former Feinstein aides, to depict her as someone experiencing cognitive decline.
“Speaking on background, and with respect for her accomplished career, they say her short-term memory has grown so poor that she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have,” wrote Mayer. “They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said and getting upset when she can’t keep up.”
Speaking as a former political staffer: These words also describe politicians many decades younger than Feinstein. The grueling pace of meetings, conversations and decisions can test even the nimblest of brains.
I served as Feinstein’s communications director during the 111th Congress, from 2008 to 2011. People warned me not to work for “DF,” mostly due to what Mayer calls “her reputation as a taskmaster.” She was tough, but I’m glad I didn’t listen to the naysayers.
She was 75 and I was 32, but she regularly outworked me and most other staffers. During my first six months in Washington, I’d occasionally wake up with my heart beating out of my chest because I thought I was late for work. I’d sit up to discover it was only 2 a.m.
Feinstein was more organized and fastidious than anyone I’d ever met. From the seating arrangement in staff meetings to the font size on memos, everything had to meet her exact specifications.
Most politicians relish tardiness. Feinstein showed up early. Many politicians skip staff meetings and meet only with top lieutenants. Feinstein presided over a weekly all-staff meeting. Sitting at the head of the table, she reviewed each aide’s report, pen in hand, like a teacher awarding grades.
“A stickler for detail, she demanded to see every page going out of her office with her name on it,” wrote Mayer.
Every decision, great or small, had to be memorialized in writing. Once, I accidentally misspelled my own name on a memo.
“Who is Gil Furan?” she demanded to know.
I had to fix the typo before she would read the memo. Even at half speed, she’d be more formidable than most politicians.
Feinstein and I disagree on many issues. While Republicans consider her radical on some matters — guns and reproductive rights, for example — progressives consider her vexingly conservative on others. She voted for the Iraq War in 2004 (she has since expressed regret) and opposed marijuana legalization (which she now supports).
Her independent mindset often complicated things. I liked to call her “the most popular Republican in California.” Out of her earshot, of course.
Feinstein’s ability to reach across the aisle made her effective in a legislative body where bipartisanship once mattered. Conservatives still hate her for managing to pass the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994. As chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, she oversaw an investigation into CIA torture, which she called “a stain on our values and our history.”
She also delivered for Californians by winning support for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and the California Desert Protection Act. In addition, she led the Senate in the use of “private bills” to temporarily protect immigrants from deportation.
Many have tried — and failed — to beat her. Feinstein’s conservative streak seems like the real reason some want her gone. If she were half-unconscious but supported things like the Green New Deal and ending the filibuster, many would cheer rather than jeer.
Poll numbers suggest that her moderate politics, a winning formula for decades, are outdated. Her approval rating has dropped to a historic low of 35%. Perhaps it’s time to paddle left, but ageist arguments against a senator seem odd since the word comes from the Latin “senex,” meaning “old man.”
Historically, a senate is a council of old men appointed to decide matters of great importance. Much has changed since ancient times, but the United States Senate still has plenty of seniors. The august chamber has long been a haunt for aged men. Many were lionized for staying past their prime.
Feinstein, 87, has seen better days. Still, California voters re-elected her in 2018, disregarding a younger opponent. No one takes the contract with voters more seriously than Feinstein, who often reminded her staff that senators get six-year terms “for a reason.”
The push for her resignation is the latest challenge for an iron-willed woman whose long career was forged by violence and tragedy. When she served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a terrorist group planted a bomb outside of her home. In 1978, she discovered the body of Supervisor Harvey Milk after Supervisor Dan White assassinated both Milk and Mayor George Moscone at City Hall.
Gov. Newsom — facing doubts about his own leadership — may come to regret his MSNBC stunt. Feinstein’s not the type to get bullied. She tends to rise when challenged, and she’s outlasted plenty of men.
On Tuesday, Newsom tried to clarify his remarks, telling reporters that Feinstein “should absolutely fill out the rest of her term.” He called her a “friend” and “mentor.”
That’s better. Feinstein has every right to leave public service on her own terms and in her own time. If she reaches a point where she can no longer serve with clarity and judgment, she should do the right thing and step down. She has served California with honor and distinction.
If she follows Newsom’s recommendation and stays until 2025, it’s probably best if she doesn’t run again at 91. Good luck beating her if she does.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 1:00 PM.