With the help of a staff member, Senator Diane Feinstein rose from her wheelchair, grabbed his arm, walked onto the floor, and cast her second vote of the week. She voted against a plan to overturn some penal reforms recently passed by the District of Columbia and then walked out.

Back in her wheelchair, she stepped out of an elevator and was met by a reporter who asked about her health.

“Aren’t you so excited,” she said.

Feinstein returned last week after months away from the Senate as she recovered from the shingles virus. Her absence from Washington hasn’t derailed confirmation of President Biden’s judicial nominations or the federal government’s work, but it did spark fear among Democrats who feared that their majority’s narrow margins would make their jobs difficult or impossible .

In the short post-voting interview, she mentioned a problem with her leg, but overall she said she felt better. Then another reporter asked about the well wishes she had received from her Senate colleagues since her return last week.

“To have something

me me

heard about what

?

she asked.

“About your return,” the reporter replied.

“I haven’t been away,” she said. ‘You would… I haven’t been away. I have worked.’

“You’ve been working from home, you mean?”

‘No, I’ve been here. I voted. Please know or don’t know.’

She then blew past in her wheelchair and did not respond to any other questions. The interview lasted no more than a minute and it was one of the few times she spoke to reporters since her return

the

Capitol. The senator has revealed little about her health or her workload, aside from statements that she was briefed on Senate affairs while she recovered at home in San Francisco and that her doctors told her to work a light schedule when she returned to Washington .

Last week at the Senate Judiciary hearing, she helped push through three nominations that had lacked bipartisan support and thus remained in limbo due to her absence. With her return to the Senate, Democrats now have an 11-10 lead over the committee, allowing Biden’s nominations to advance to the full Senate without a Republican vote.

As a result, Feinstein’s absence of almost three months fell somewhat

a

Congressional Democrats called for her to resign because of her absence and failing health. One was Rep. Fremont’s Ro Khanna, who last week said he was pleased with Feinstein’s return.

,

other

Hi

hoped she would be able to fulfill her duties.

Her health and mental acuity have been questioned by the press and her colleagues in recent years. Feinstein has long been known for being not only powerful, but also practically demanding, such as editing media advisories before sending them. But several stories, including one last year in the San Francisco Chronicle, described the deterioration of her memory. Feinstein rejected the stories at the time, saying she was still fit to serve.