Congressman Ro Khanna won't seek retiring California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's ... trends now
Rep. Ro Khanna said that he will not be pursuing a bid to replace retiring California Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2024.
The California lawmaker instead endorsed fellow California Rep. Barbara Lee, who is seeking to replace the longtime senator.
Feinstein would be 91 at the time of reelection if she decided to go for yet another six-year term – meaning she would be nearing 100 at the end of that term.
'I have concluded that despite a lot of enthusiasm from Bernie [Sanders'] folks, the best place, the most exciting place, action place, fit place, for me to serve as a progressive is in the House of Representatives,' Khanna told CNN's Jake Tapper during an interview with State of the Union on Sunday morning.
'And I'm honored to be co-chairing Barbara Lee's campaign for the Senate and endorsing her today,' he continued. 'We need a strong anti-war senator and she will play that role.'
California Rep. Ro Khanna confirmed on Sunday that he will not make a bid to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sen. Feinstein, 89, is the oldest woman in the upper chamber – and her office announced she will retire at the end of her current term in 2024
In January 2021, Feinstein filed the initial Federal Election Commission paperwork required to seek reelection, but her office put out a statement last month claiming she won't be seeking another bid in 2024.
Feinstein told reporters at the time of the statement that she had not 'released anything' about retiring from Congress after her office put out a statement announcing this was her last term.
'I haven't made that decision. I haven't released anything,' she told reporters when asked about her emailed statement.
When a staffer mentioned the earlier announcement, she said, 'You put out the statement? I didn't know they put it out.'
The 89-year-old lawmaker is unquestionably a political titan, particularly so in California . But recent reports have raised concerns about her cognitive abilities at this advanced age, and have hastened the push for her to retire.
Alex Padilla, California's junior senator, confirmed to reporters at a Senate Democrats' weekly press conference last month that Feinstein had indeed informed the caucus at their Tuesday lunch that she would retire at the beginning of 2024.
Khanna is backing Rep. Barbara Lee in her bid to succeed Feinstein in the upper chamber
Feinstein told reporters last month that she did not announce plans to retire hours after her office sent out an emailed statement indicating just that
'You know, it would be impossible to write the history of California politics - it'd be impossible to write the history of American politics - without acknowledging the trail blazing career of Senator Dianne Feinstein,' Padilla said.
'I want to be clear, as she was clear with us in
