California Senator Dianne Feinstein has clearly been ill for some time but she was still being rolled out to vote for key bills because the Democrats only have a one-vote majority.
Her death will allow California Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint a replacement.
There was a rumour that he will appoint Kamala Harris in a deal where he would have the opportunity to run as vice president but that's just speculation. Adam Schiff is another possibility.
However Newsom himself said he would appoint someone who wasn't going to run in the seat in the 2024 election.
“Yes. Interim appointment. I don’t want to get involved in the primary,” Newsom said. “It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don’t want to tip the balance of that.”
We probably won't have to wait long to find out as she was clearly in deteriorating health for some time.
Here's the obituary from CNBC.
