Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday she was hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles after missing Senate votes this week.
In a statement, Feinstein, 89, said he was diagnosed with shingles while the Senate was in recess late last month.
“I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and hope to make a full recovery,” Feinstein said. «I hope to return to the Senate at the end of this month.»
When asked about his absence amid lost votes this week, his office said Wednesday that he was «dealing with a health issue» and hoped to «return to Washington soon.»
Feinstein said last month that he will retire from Congress at the end of 2024 after serving three decades in the Senate and more than 50 years in public office.
Feinstein, California’s oldest sitting senator and longest-serving senator, was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
The announcement of her departure has sparked a heated race to replace her, with a handful of candidates already in the running to be the Democratic nominee next year.
Feinstein is one of the few lawmakers who have been sidelined in recent weeks by medical issues.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., recently returned to Washington after undergoing surgery last month for prostate cancer. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, also underwent surgery to remove tumors in the lining of his gastrointestinal tract; he said in a statement last week that he planned to recover for «several weeks» before returning to Washington.
The office of Sen. John Fetterman said this week that Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, remained hospitalized after being admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month for clinical depression.