Sen. Dianne Feinstein speaks to the media in Washington, D.C., Sept. 27, 2018. (Photo/JTA-Zach Gibson-Getty Images) News California Dianne Feinstein says she isn’t leaving the Senate anytime soon Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By Ron Kampeas, JTA | December 21, 2020 Sen. Dianne Feinstein has no plans to leave the Senate, she told Gerald Skelton, a sympathetic Los Angeles Times columnist, in a Dec. 17 column. “I don’t feel my cognitive abilities have diminished,” she said. The longtime Jewish senator, who is 87, last month said she would not seek to keep her influential spot as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She said she preferred to focus on climate change, which she said is posing grievous dangers to California, where an intense season of wildfires added to the state’s pandemic woes. That didn’t stop pressure on her to leave her Senate. Reports that her mental acuity is diminishing surfaced, and a photo of her hugging the committee chairman, Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., after contentious confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, went viral. Feinstein, in office since 1992, is set to serve through 2024, when she will be 91. Ron Kampeas JTA D.C. bureau chief JTA Content distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service. Also On J. Youth Voice My heart is with Ukraine, and I’m doing what I can to help Politics Lipstadt nomination for antisemitism envoy passes committee Politics Deborah Lipstadt confirmed in late-night Senate vote Politics Is Feinstein about to be the first Jew to be 3rd in line for presidency? Subscribe to our Newsletter Enter Email Sign Up