SAN FRANCISCO — Sen. Dianne Feinstein was taken to a hospital Tuesday after she tripped and fell at her home in San Francisco, according to multiple reports.
In a statement obtained Wednesday by SFGate, a spokesperson for Feinstein’s office said she “briefly went to the hospital yesterday as a precaution after a minor fall in her home.”
“All of her scans were clear and she returned home,” the statement read.
The California Democrat went back home Tuesday night, according to TMZ. The outlet was the first to report the fall.
The incident happened as Feinstein — who at 90 is the oldest member of Congress — continues to face scrutiny over her health. Some Democrats have called for Feinstein to resign as her health problems have led to absences in the Senate.
“I respect the heck out of Sen. Feinstein, and I think she’s an extraordinary American who served the country with grace and effectiveness. But I also think it’s fairly obvious that competency matters now more than ever, and the ability to show up,” Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told reporters in May, according to CNN.
“And it saddens me to say, but I think, frankly, it’s up to those around her, her closest ones, it’s up to senators, it’s up to Californians to make that decision. But I’m gonna call it like I see it, and I think this job is a tough one when you’re at your best, let alone when you’re compromised, or infirm and I think that’s pretty clear.”
In March, Feinstein was hospitalized for shingles, a diagnosis that led to other ailments that kept her out of the Senate until May. Among those complications was encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, The Washington Post reported.
After she returned to Congress, an aide told Reuters that she continued to deal with a medical complication called Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The rare disorder stems from shingles outbreaks and can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Feinstein, who was elected to the Senate in 1992, announced in February that she does not intend to run for re-election in 2024.
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