Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) made waves last week when he called for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s resignation due to her bout with shingles which has kept her away from the job for over two months. On Sunday, he appeared on Fox News Sunday to try to explain how somehow her situation was different than that of Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s, who has also been unable to perform his duties. He’s been suffering from severe depression which led to a month-long stay in the hospital.
In fact, he’s been away longer than Feinstein. But here’s Khanna demanding the 89-year-old Feinstein resign:
It’s time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) April 12, 2023
I’m sure it’s no coincidence that Khanna is the co-chair of California Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee’s campaign to replace Feinstein in the Senate in 2024, and that he would benefit from Feinstein’s departure.
On how Fetterman’s status is different than Feinstein’s, Khanna had an almost laughable explanation. It’s hugely different because Fetterman has set a return date while Feinstein has not, he explained:
“[Sen. Feinstein] hasn’t been showing up and she has no intention. We don’t know if she’s even going to show up. She has no return date,” Khanna told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream. “In contrast, Senator Fetterman has said that he’s going to show back up on April 17. So, it’s one thing to take medical leave and come back. It’s another thing where you’re just not doing the job.”
Wait, what? “It’s another thing where you’re just not doing the job,” Khanna says. But that describes Fetterman to a tee, doesn’t it? He’s been MIA for most of his young term. And who is Khanna to say he knows what Feinstein’s “intention” is? That shows a lot of hubris.
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“The reality here is there’s the sense, ‘Well you need to have a deference to these senators who have served so long,’” Khanna says. “How about a deference to the American people? How about an expectation that if you sign up to do one of these jobs, you show up?”
Again, fair point—but how does that apply to Feinstein and not Fetterman? Fetterman checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center barely a month after taking office. Anchor Shannon Bream asked Khanna about suggestions from writers like the Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberly Strassel that it appeared that Khanna was using Feinstein’s condition for his own gain. His answer once again was less than believable:
I’m very proud to be a Co-Chair of Barbara Lee’s campaign, one of the strongest anti-war voices in the Congress, who was opposed to these foreign interventions. But Governor Newsom can appoint a caretaker. He doesn’t have to appoint someone in the current race, and I would support the governor doing that.
This has nothing to do with the current race, because a caretaker would solve that.
That sounds reasonable—except that Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to fill the seat with a black woman should there be a vacancy. Guess who jumps to the top of the list? Barbara Lee, a black female who is already running for the seat. Meanwhile, Democrats in the Senate are frustrated that they have to get bipartisan support to vote through judges since Feinstein isn’t able to vote. The Dems are presumably strongly pressuring pols like Khanna to demand that she walk away, and he’s gladly taken on that job.
Ro Khanna’s hypocritical, dissembling statements aren’t in the least bit believable, and he definitely leaves the impression that he is just a hard-edged, principle-free political opportunist.
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