Senator Dianne Feinstein returned to the Capitol on Wednesday to cast her first Senate vote since an extended absence due to an illness that threatened the slim majority of Democrats and led to mounting calls for her resignation.

Feinstein, who, at age 89,

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incumbent senator, was wheeled to the Senate floor in a wheelchair she sometimes needs to get around the Capitol because she has “a lighter schedule,” her office said in a statement. Videos on Twitter showed Feinstein coming out of a car outside the Senate buildingwhere she was helped into a wheelchair and greeted by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.).

She didn’t take questions from reporters.

On Wednesday afternoon, Feinstein voted yes to confirm Glenna Wright-Gallo as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitation services, passing 52 to 45.

Senator Dianne Feinstein returns to DC after an extended absence

Feinstein returned to Washington on Tuesday after a months-long absence due to the shingles virus. In a statement released by her office Wednesday, Feinstein said she has made significant progress but is still experiencing some side effects, including vision and balance problems.

I have returned to Washington and am ready to resume my duties in the Senate, Feinstein said. The Senate faces many important issues, but the most pressing is to ensure that our government does not default on its financial obligations. I also look forward to resuming my work on the Judiciary Committee, considering the President’s judicial candidates.

My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule when I return to the Senate. I hope those problems will go away as I continue to recover, she said.

The California Democrat also expressed her gratitude for the well wishes she received and for the care she received from her team of doctors in San Francisco.

Democrats hoped Feinstein would return next week. She hasn’t promised anything

Feinstein was briefly hospitalized in San Francisco in February with the virus and said she had hoped to be back in Washington by the end of March, but she stayed home to recover. Feinstein worked while she recovered, her spokesman Adam Russell said at the time, but she couldn’t cast a vote without being on the Senate floor or on committee, complicating the confirmation of President Biden’s judicial and administrative nominees.

Her absence eventually sparked outrage from some corners of the Democratic Party for Feinstein to step aside, including from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.N.Y.). Last month, Feinstein had asked for another Democrat to be appointed to the panel temporarily in her place, but Republicans rejected that bid.

Feinstein has been battling questions about her health and her capacity to serve for several years, including whether she can handle the mental rigors of high-profile positions. Feinstein said she is not running for re-election next year but plans to serve her term, which ends in early 2025, and then retire.

Times staff writers Melanie Mason, Benjamin Oreskes and Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu contributed to this report.