Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has handed over power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine Feinstein, who will now have power over her mothers legal affairs.

The New York Times confirmed rumors of the power transition on Thursday reporting, "In one legal dispute, the family is fighting over what’s described as Senator Feinstein’s desire to sell a beach house in an exclusive neighborhood in Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco. In another disagreement, the two factions are at odds over access to the proceeds of Mr. Blum’s life insurance, which Senator Feinstein says she needs to pay for her growing medical expenses."

Feinstein has been in the spotlight ever since a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee where she appeared confused and had to instructed what to do by a fellow Senator.

Feinstein was supposed to vote by saying "aye" or "no," but instead threatened to launch into a speech before Senator Patty Murrary (D-WA) leaned over and told her what to do.

Clearly, Feinstein is losing it mentally and her physical health has collapsed since battling a shingles infection this spring. However, despite all of that, Democrats are refusing to entertain calls for Feinstein to resign.

Unable to serve

Feinstein is unable to walk on her own without the assistance of a wheelchair and it seems doubtful that she fully comprehends what she is voting on in her duties as a Senator representing California.

Feinstein is 90 years old and and should have retired a decade ago and yet she is still defiantly hanging on to her position.

When Feinstein came back from her months long hospital stay, she told a reporter who asked about her absence that, "No, I haven’t been gone. You should follow the — I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working."

Feinstein has been dealing with symptoms of dementia since at least 2020 when the New Yorker reported that Feinstein "often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have."

Last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a member of California’s congressional delegation had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein despite having known her for over a decade.

That last story is the most concerning and further indicates that Feinstein is suffering from dementia and is forgetting the people she has known for years.

Time for age limits

Senator Feinstein is one of many politicians who have been in politics for far too long. There are a handful of other Senators in their 80s who simply are not in touch with what is happening in America today.

Feinstein and her peers are expected to vote on important issues in a discerning manner and yet in Feinstein's case she hardly seems to know where she is.

Feinsteins public decline makes a strong case for age limits in Congress. A Congressional member needs to be both physically and mentally fit in order to represent the American people.