Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, 90, has given power of attorney to her daughter, according to The New York Times. The senator is in her sixth term and her apparent cognitive issues have been getting noticeably worse, making some people question her ability to continue doing her job.
She was not able to work for some time due to shingles and its complications, and upon her return, her mental capacity seemed to be even worse. The fact that she has given her daughter power of attorney has led to more questions.
In May, The New York Times reported that Feinstein's complications were worse than was originally reported. In addition to facial paralysis and vision and balance issues, having shingles also reportedly caused the senator to develop post-shingles encephalitis.
According to the publication, post-shingles encephalitis can cause confusion, memory issues, and issues with language, among other problems.
Feinstein has said that she will retire at the end of her term: January 2025. However, because of the condition she's in, people have questioned if she should be serving until then. She doesn't seem open to leaving.
The reason some have questioned the fact that Feinstein's daughter, Katherine Feinstein, has been given power of attorney (a legal document that allows someone to act on behalf of another person) is because in some cases, this type of document is used when a person is not capable of doing things for themselves.
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This is not the only reason for the legal document to be used though. Ashwani Prabhakar, a trusts and estates attorney at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, told CBS that "a power of attorney alone is not an unusual thing."
They are pretty common among wealthy people, he noted. Feinstein is very wealthy, and has been one of the wealthiest people in Congress for some time, according to The New York Times.
Prabhakar told CBS that giving her daughter power of attorney doesn't necessarily mean much of anything, though sometimes using a power of attorney is done in preparation for a time when a person might not be able to act on their own behalf, according to the American Bar Association.
"Another important reason to use power of attorney is to prepare for situations when you may not be able to act on your own behalf due to absence or incapacity. Such a disability may be temporary, for example, due to travel, accident, or illness, or it may be permanent," according to the American Bar Association.
On a document obtained by Insider, Katherine Feinstein signed on her mom's behalf on July 17.
“I continue to work and get results for California," Dianne Feinstein said in May, showing that she is unwilling to resign in spite of calls to do so.
In late July, a video that showed Feinstein appearing confused when asked to vote went viral. It happened around the same time that a video went viral that showed Senator Mitch McConnell, 81, lose track of what he was saying and stop talking for about 20 seconds before aides led him away.
When he returned and was asked about it, he just said, "I'm fine."
Both of these incidents have lead to more conversations about age limits for politicians. The average age of elected officials has increased in recent years; after all, former President Donald Trump, 77, and President Joe Biden, 80, are not exactly young either.
According to a YouGov poll, 58% of Americans support a maximum age limit for elected officials (while 21% are not sure). In addition, 39% say that age limit should be 70, while 24% think it should be 60 and 23% say it should be 80. Only 5% responded saying that the age limit should be 90 (Feinstein's current age).
