Senator Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress to suffer serious health problems, is suing her late husband’s estate, arguing that she is being denied payment for ‘substantial’ medical bills.
Feinstein, 90, was born in 1933 and has held her seat in the Senate representing California for nearly 31 years.
His reputation has begun to erode as the ailing senator clings to power despite apparent cognitive decline and absences that have created a backlog of judge confirmations through the Judiciary Committee.
In the lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, attorneys representing Feinstein and her stepdaughter, Katherine, who represent her, wrote that she incurred “significant” medical expenses and sought reimbursement from a marital trust her husband established in 1996 by investor Richard Blum. . , who died in 2022.
The fund’s trustees said they were ‘confused’ by the filing and have not ruled out disbursing any money for Feinstein, 90, who was absent from the Senate for two and a half months this year as she contended with shingles and other complications.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress with serious health problems, is suing her late husband’s estate, arguing she is being denied payment for ‘substantial’ medical bills.
The senator is the ‘sole income beneficiary’ of the trust, whose assets include a life insurance policy and its proceeds, the filing said.
“The purported trustees have refused to make distributions to pay Sen. Feinstein’s medical expenses,” they claim in the filing, despite Bloom’s intention to pay his wife’s welfare after her death.
Additionally, they said the ‘purported trustee’ Mark R. Klein and Mark Scholvink were not appointed to comply with the terms of the trust.
The senator wants to appoint his daughter to manage the fund, which they asked the court to confirm. Katherine Feinstein is Bloom’s stepdaughter.
In response, Steven P. An attorney at Braccini, Klein & Schollvink, said in a statement, ‘My clients are confused by this filing. Richard Bloom’s trust has denied making any payments to Sen. Feinstein, let alone for medical expenses.’
‘While my clients are deeply concerned, we are all hopeful that this is simply a misunderstanding that can be resolved quickly,’ he said.
In the filing, Katherine Feinstein, a San Francisco Fire Commission member and former judge, is identified as an ‘attorney in fact’ for the senator, someone authorized to act on behalf of another person.
But Brackini said, ‘We have not been presented with any evidence to show that Katherine Feinstein has a power of attorney for her mother; Nor did Catherine make clear in this filing or directly to my clients why a United States Senator should hold a power of attorney over her.’
Feinstein, 90, was born in 1933 and has held her seat in the Senate representing California for nearly 31 years.
The ailing senator’s reputation began to erode despite apparent cognitive decline and a two-and-a-half-month absence that created a backlog of judge confirmations through the Judiciary Committee.
The senator is the ‘sole income beneficiary’ of the trust, whose assets include life insurance policies and its proceeds, the filing said.
In the lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, attorneys for Feinstein and her stepdaughter, Katherine (pictured), wrote that she incurred “significant” medical expenses and sought reimbursement from the marital trust.
Despite late husband Richard Blum’s (pictured) intent to provide for his wife’s welfare after her death, “the purported trustees have refused to make distributions to pay for Sen. Feinstein’s medical expenses,” her family wrote in a lawsuit.
The senator’s spokesman, Adam Russell, said in an email that he would not comment on what Feinstein and her office called “a private legal matter.”
Feinstein is covered by Medicare and DC HealthLink, which provides health plans for members of Congress.
He is the fifth oldest person to serve in the Senate. Strom Thurmond, a separatist Democrat turned Republican, was the oldest and longest-serving senator ever: he was 100 years old when he retired in January 2003 after 48 years in office.
According to the Los Angeles Times, she is one of the richest people: Feinstein is worth an estimated $58 million. She was married to investment banker Richard Bloom from 1980 until his death in 2022.
Feinstein, whose groundbreaking political career has broken down gender barriers from San Francisco’s City Hall to the corridors of Capitol Hill, announced in February that she would not seek re-election.
Three House Democrats are already lined up to try to replace him: Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. Businessman Eric Early is running for the Republican Party.
After her sick leave, Feinstein returned to the Capitol in May after nearly ten weeks of contracting shingles in San Francisco and being briefly hospitalized.
Feinstein returned with a brain infection known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, in addition to visual and balance impairments and encephalitis, a facial paralysis.
Feinstein is covered by Medicare and DC HealthLink, which provides health plans for members of Congress.
Feinstein, whose groundbreaking political career has broken down gender barriers from San Francisco’s City Hall to the corridors of Capitol Hill, announced in February that she would not seek re-election.
Feinstein was married to investment banker Richard Bloom (pictured left) from 1980 until his death in 2022.
Other side effects of the virus include vision and balance problems. He uses a wheelchair to get to his office and committee meetings.
Feinstein has faced questions over the years about her memory and cognitive abilities — though she has defended her functioning — and has occasionally become confused during brief discussions with reporters.
Despite calls to resign from some in her own party, Feinstein has given no indication that she is considering stepping down.
A recent poll found that nearly two-thirds of California’s registered voters think the Democratic senator is unfit for office.
Among all California voters, 42 percent say Feinstein should resign from her office, while 27 percent think she should serve out the remainder of her term.
Feinstein, meanwhile, downplayed her health problems. Asked recently how he was feeling, the frail senator insisted: ‘Oh, I feel good. I have a problem with my leg.’
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