Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday she was hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles after she missed Senate votes this week.
In a statement, Feinstein, 89, said she got the shingles diagnosis while the Senate was in recess late last month.
“I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery,” Feinstein said. “I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”
Asked about her absence amid missed votes this week, her office said Wednesday that she was “dealing with a health matter” and hoped to “return to Washington soon.”
Feinstein said last month that she will retire from Congress at the end of 2024 after having served three decades in the Senate and over 50 years in public office.
Feinstein, the oldest sitting senator and the longest-serving senator from California, was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
The announcement of her departure has set up a heated race to replace her, with a handful of candidates already running to be the Democratic candidate next year.
Feinstein is one of a handful of lawmakers who have been sidelined in recent weeks by medical concerns.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., recently returned to Washington after having undergone surgery last month for prostate cancer. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, also underwent surgery to remove tumors in the lining of his gastrointestinal tract; he said in a statement last week that he planned to recover for “several weeks” before he returns to Washington.
Sen. John Fetterman’s office said this week that Fetterman, D-Pa., remained hospitalized after he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month for clinical depression.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
