The question of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s ability to do her job continues to be asked. The senator’s daughter now claims she has power of attorney over her mother. Why would a sitting U.S. Senator need her child to have power of attorney over her if she is fine?

Senator Feinstein is 90 years old. She recently spent months suffering from shingles and then we learned she also endured a complication during that time – Encephalitis, a condition that causes the brain to swell. She was much more ill than we knew at the time.

Giving a spouse or child or other relative the power of attorney to help with personal affairs when someone is ill is common. Under normal circumstances, a 90 year old giving her grown daughter power of attorney is not noteworthy. It would be considered taking care of business and being responsible. Dianne Feinstein is a very wealthy woman and her late husband was a very wealthy person. There are lots of legal considerations to be attended to with her estate, when the time comes. However, these are not normal circumstances because she is a sitting senator. We have been told that she is a-ok and able to perform her responsibilities in elected office.

If Senator Feinstein is ok, she would not need her daughter to step in and handle her affairs now. The daughter and the power of attorney will be needed when Feinstein passes away but she’s alive and still working. We should be able to assume that she is handling her personal affairs.

Recently, video circulated of Feinstein in a committee meeting. She had a moment when she forgot what to do when a vote was called. All she had to do was vote for or against whatever it was that was being considered but she had to be prompted to just say ‘aye’ when she was called on. She began to go into reasons why she was in favor of the motion and a staffer went over to interrupt her. He told her to just say ‘aye’, and then Senator Patty Murray, who was sitting next to her, told her the same thing. So, she did that. It was a very uncomfortable scene.

Katherine Feinstein, Dianne Feinstein’s 66-year-old daughter from Feinstein’s marriage to Jack Berman is a former judge. She has been given power of attorney for her mother.

Feinstein’s third husband, Richard Blum, died in 2022. Both Feinstein and Blum had children from previous marriages when they married. Now there are lawsuits over property and funds to pay her medical expenses. Katherine has filed two lawsuits on behalf of her mother.

At its core, this seems to be a dispute among the ultra-wealthy and their children, but it’s absolutely wild to think that a woman who feels mentally fit to serve in Congress needs another adult to take on her legal affairs. Katherine filed two lawsuits against the co-trustees of Blum’s estate. The less interesting lawsuit is about a Bay Area beachfront mansion allegedly being used by Blum’s daughters from a previous marriage, which is stymying Feinstein’s attempts to sell the property.

The second lawsuit—also filed by her adult daughter, according to the New York Times—says the trustees have been holding back funds from Feinstein as she continues to rack up medical bills in her old age. Due to a bout of shingles, Feinstien missed nearly three months of work in the Senate, handing Democrats a tenuous majority on the powerful Judiciary Committee and holding up countless judicial appointments. After Feinstein finally returned to work, the public learned she had a horrific complication during her time away: Encephalitis, which is a condition where your brain swells.

Feinstein’s lawsuit filed on her behalf by her adult daughter alleges that Feinstein “incurred significant medical expenses” and “the purported trustees have refused to make distributions to reimburse Senator Feinstein’s medical expenses.” In the filing, Katherine signs for her mother.

If Feinstein is too mentally impaired to handle her own affairs, even signing off when she is demanding that her medical expenses be paid, how is she doing her job in the Senate? Is her staff doing her job for her and then just wheeling her over to meetings so she appears to be functioning? It’s giving off “Weekend at Bernie’s” vibes.

The trustees of Blum’s estate say none of the problems are happening as Katherine says. They say they never refused to pay Feinstein’s medical expenses. They question if Katherine really was given power of attorney, as they have not been given proof.

“My clients are perplexed by this filing,” Steven P. Braccini, attorney for trustees Michael R. Klein and Marc T. Scholvinck said in a statement to the NYT. “Richard Blum’s trust has never denied any disbursement to Senator Feinstein, let alone for medical expenses.”

Braccini also said he’s not been given proof of legal power of attorney. “Nor has Katherine made it clear, either in this filing or directly to my clients, why a sitting United States senator would require someone to have power of attorney over her,” he said. “While my clients are deeply concerned, we all remain hopeful that this is simply a misunderstanding that can be quickly resolved, rather than a stepdaughter engaging in some kind of misguided attempt to gain control over trust assets to which she is not entitled.”

Is all this hubbub happening because Katherine is attempting to grab control of her mother’s assets? Family matters get weird when money and property are involved.

This story is a sad example of an older politician without someone that will tell them it is time to call it a day. It’s time for Feinstein to retire and enjoy the rest of her life in peace. It’s the same sad story with Fetterman and Biden. No one around them wants to relinquish the power and perks of public office. Feinstein has experienced a long career in elected office. I don’t agree with her politics but that’s not the point here. She deserves better than how she is being treated now.

Democrats don’t want to return to a 50-50 split in the Senate because Republicans have made it clear that they likely won’t support replacing Feinstein on the powerful Judiciary Committee. Republicans didn’t support temporarily replacing her during her absence so that judicial nominations could progress through the committee, rightly so. So, they aren’t encouraging Feinstein to step down.

If Feinstein has to step down before her term is up in 2024, or if she dies in office, California Governor Newsom will replace her with another Democrat. However, there is friction among California Democrats over who her replacement would be. Newsom wants to appoint the first black female senator from the state and that would be Senator Barbara Lee, who is running for Feinstein’s seat. Nancy Pelosi wants the next senator to be Adam Schiff. There were reports that Pelosi’s daughter was providing assistance to Feinstein, acting as her helper, in order to allow her to stay on the job. What a mess.