Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Sen. Dianne Feinstein twice to ask her to step aside from her leadership role on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but she forgot the first conversation, people aware of the exchange told The New Yorker's Jane Mayer.
Feinstein recently announced she would be stepping down as the top Democrat on the committee after she faced backlash from progressives for not being aggressive enough in the hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
The US senator from California, who is the oldest member of the Senate, was also mocked online after she asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey the same question twice during a hearing last month, which prompted conversation on her mental capacity.
Schumer wanted Feinstein to step aside from the committee on her own accord to preserve her dignity, Mayer's report said. Feinstein forgot the initial conversation with Schumer, which prompted him to speak with her on the topic again, the report said. Efforts were also made to enlist her husband, Richard Blum, for help, The New Yorker reported.
One person told The New Yorker that Feinstein "wasn't really all that aware of the extent to which she'd been compromised" and that "it was hurtful and distressing to have it pointed out."
Aides told The New Yorker that Feinstein was "struggling" and having a hard time retaining short-term memory. But others said the concerns were overblown.
Neither Feinstein's nor Schumer's office immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment.
