California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday that she will not seek re-election in 2024, putting a conclusion date on her more than 30-year career in the Senate that was filled with a number of controversial remarks and moves.
“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein, who has represented the Golden State in the Senate since 1992, said in a statement.
Feinstein – who is the oldest serving senator at age 89 and the longest serving female senator – has had many ups and downs throughout her tenure in the Senate.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN ANNOUNCES SHE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2024
1. Feinstein’s defense of China and questionable connections
The senator has been a defender of China for decades, becoming the first U.S. mayor to visit the country while running San Francisco. Feinstein supported granting Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status to China in 2000 – a designation that relaxed restrictions and encouraged a surge in U.S.-China economic cooperation.
In 1994, when the U.S. Senate was considering rescinding this trade status with China over human rights violations, Feinstein argued against it, saying it would “inflame Beijing’s insecurities.”
Feinstein also came to the nation’s defense when China was considered for entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), which they successfully joined in 2001.
At the 1995 confirmation hearing for former U.S. Ambassador to China Jim Sasser, Feinstein offered a powerful defense to claims of human rights abuses committed by China, saying that the country was “changing” due to Western influence.
Feinstein also compared the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square to the U.S. government’s infamously botched 1993 stand-off in Waco, Texas.
“I was appalled as anyone by the tanks at [Tiananmen] Square, but three tanks of this government went into Waco, (Texas) and killed 29 children,” Feinstein…
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