Democrats, who have not given in on GOP warnings on Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., are stuck in a Catch-22 with the health-related absence of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Some have been quick to call for her resignation, like Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. — which former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has denounced as sexist.
Three Democrat senators shared their differing views Sunday, some apparently ready to ignore the hypocrisy or slippery slopes and want to give her all the time she wants, but Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., not as much.
"If this goes on month after month after month, then she's going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds because this isn't just about California, it's also about the nation — and we just can't, with this one vote margin, and expect every other person to be there every single time," Klobuchar told Sunday's ABC "This Week."
"It's going to become an issue as the months go by," she continued, concluding, "she says she's going to return.
"Let's make sure that happens, and it sure better happen before the debt-ceiling vote."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was far less pointed on Feinstein's return from shingles at the age of 89.
"We're human and we believe that a senator should be able to make their own judgments about when they're retiring and when they're not, and they all deserve a chance to get better and come back to work," Gillibrand told CNN's "State of the Union." "Dianne will get better. She will come back to work.
"She's been voted by her state to be senator for six years," Gillibrand added. "She has the right, in my opinion, to decide when she steps down."
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., evaded when NBC "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd sought to press her on responding to calls for Feinstein to resign.
"Well, I certainly wish Sen. Feinstein well, and I'm pleased that she has made the decision to have a fill-in on her seat on the Judiciary Committee," Baldwin said. "I think that is really an important and responsible thing to do during her absence because we have President Biden's nominees waiting for hearings and votes and we want to keep that moving. But I wish her well and hope she returns to the Senate very soon.
"Look," she added. "It's up to Dianne Feinstein and her family to decide whether she wants to keep on serving and she's had a remarkable record, and I respect that."
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