Senator Dianne Feinstein flies back to Washington

DC

her spokesman said Tuesday, after her extended absence due to the shingles virus threatened to derail the Senate Democrats’ agenda.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Feinstein, who had been recovering in the Bay Area since mid-February, boarded a private charter plane Tuesday and was able to return to the Senate as early as tonight.

Adam Russell, a spokesperson for the Democratic senator, confirmed she is in transit to Washington, but declined to comment further.

The senator’s extended absence caused heartburn among the

bare bones

Democratic majority, which has few votes left to confirm President Biden’s cabinet and judicial candidates, as well as possible legislation to prevent a national debt default.

While Feinstein has struggled for several years with questions about her health and ability to serve, her slow recovery from the shingles virus and related complications led some Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-San Jose) and

New York

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), to request her resignation.

Other observers, including ethics experts and progressive activists in the state, condemned her office’s lack of transparency about details of her medical condition. Last week, her employees refused to give The Times

interview or

a report

or interview

from her doctor.

In a statement last week, Feinstein

in a statement last week,

pushed back against the criticism she caused

in

a backlog before the Senate Judiciary Committee and insisted she return to Washington without specifying a timeline.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the nominations.