Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is the oldest sitting member of Congress at 89.
Before being elected to the Senate in 1992, she was the first woman to serve as San Francisco’s mayor. Walter Mondale was also interested in making Feinstein his running mate in the 1984 presidential election.
In a Meet the Press appearance that year, Feinstein said she would not seek the position of vice president. But as the first woman and first mayor to go through the interview process, she saw the opportunity as “a major opening of the door.”
“I’ve had enough people come to me and say, you know, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, to believe that it is important to do this,” Feinstein told Meet the Press in 1984.
“I also believe that in the interests of the party and in the interests of victory in November, it is very important that that door be open to a broad selection process and that people — women, minorities, mayors, senators — be considered in a careful way so that the strongest possible ticket can be put together,” she said.
Mondale ultimately chose Geraldine Ferraro, who became the first female vice presidential nominee for a major party. The ticket lost in a landslide to former President Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush.
Feinstein said last month she was hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles. She has not voted in the Senate since Feb. 16. Some Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on Feinstein to resign last week.
Feinstein did not provide a timeline for returning to Washington. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to ask the Senate next week to allow another Democrat to temporarily take her place on the Judiciary Committee, per her request.
Feinstein will retire at the end of her current term in 2024.