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Sen. Dianne Feinstein Passes Away At Age 90. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 29, 2023 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Is so much more important and so much more central to her career into her life than I think what has been a difficult last couple of months.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN ANCHOR: And the will, Lauren brought it up in Kasie as well, of her during the Obama administration to say no, the public needs to know what happened. And to push against some of those even in her own party with that Torture Report also speaks to that will.

MATTINGLY: You talk about legacy items and legacy issues, that is a central pillar of what will be remembered about her and what she did as U.S. senator and as a legislator.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. And we thank her for her decades of service to this country. All our thoughts with her family. We will continue this breaking news coverage. The death of Senator Dianne Feinstein continues now with CNN News Central.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we do continue with the breaking news. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, the longest woman serving in the Senate in history, the longest serving senator from California, she has passed away at the age of 90 years old.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We have of course seen the senator's struggles with her health in recent years. She has been briefly hospitalized in August after a fall. We now want to go to CNN Wolf Blitzer who is taking a look back at her life and incredible legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Dianne Feinstein emerged on the national stage after a 1978 tragedy in San Francisco.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed.

BLITZER (voice-over): After the assassinations, Feinstein was sworn in as the first female mayor of the city by the bay. Mayor Feinstein quickly got the attention of the National Democratic Party, landing on a shortlist of V.P. candidates for Walter Mondale in 1984. FEINSTEIN: We will take back our unity.

BLITZER (voice-over): Feinstein made it to Washington when she won a special election in 1992 and went to the nation's capitol with Barbara Boxer as California's first female senators.

FEINSTEIN: I won among men. I won among women. I won in every age level. I won in every ethnic group. Now what that says is that to me, the fact that I'm a woman is there, but it's incidental.

BLITZER (voice-over): The assassinations that made her a mayor also made her an outspoken advocate for gun control. Feinstein was crucial in passing the 1994 federal ban on assault weapons.

FEINSTEIN: I've seen assassination. I've seen killing. I've been a mayor. I know what these guns can do. Why is it every man comes before me and says, nice lady, you really don't know.

BLITZER (voice-over): She was unsuccessful in renewing the legislation in 2004. But she didn't give up resurfacing the bill after the Sandy Hook massacre and going toe to toe with conservative Senator Ted Cruz.

FEINSTEIN: I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in I saw people shot. I've looked at bodies that had been shot with these weapons.

BLITZER (voice-over): She was the first female member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the first woman to leave the Senate Intelligence Committee. Considered a moderate Democrat, she often challenged her own party with their pro death penalty stance. After Donald Trump was elected president, Feinstein got groans from hometown Democrats, when she encouraged her party to be patient with him.

FEINSTEIN: I just hope he has the ability to learn and to change. And if he does, he can be a good president, and that's my hope.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Feinstein. That's another beauty.

BLITZER (voice-over): But Feinstein was hardly a favorite of President Trump, especially when her committees investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh nearly derailed his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

TRUMP: I'd like to find out who leaked the papers, was it Senator Feinstein?

BLITZER (voice-over): As her party shifted to the left during the Trump administration, Feinstein did the same, announcing officially in 2018 that she no longer supported the death penalty.

FEINSTEIN: I don't want to not grow. I don't want to not learn and the world changes and views change.

BLITZER (voice-over): By the time Feinstein was elected to a fifth full term in 2018, she was the oldest sitting U.S. senator. In February 2023, she announced that she would not be running for reelection. Later that year, health problems kept her off the job for three months holding up approval of several judicial nominees.

Some Democrats called for her to resign, but she kept going. Dianne Feinstein often led the way for women and men on the Hill with a dedication to public service and an uncommon resilience.

[09:05:00]

FEINSTEIN: Life is filled with defeat and you just pick yourself up and you go on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Just a brief, really a brief summary of such a storied political career. CNN's Lauren Fox is on the Hill. Lauren, this is hitting hard today. Are you getting any reaction in response from anyone yet?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is just breaking obviously. So we are still waiting on some key reaction from Senate leaders and House leadership. But obviously Senator Dianne Feinstein had a legacy on Capitol Hill. And she was known not just for what she did in terms of her legislative career, and it's important to point out that she was a fierce advocate for gun control, the architect of that 1994 assault weapons ban.

But she also was someone who tried at times to reach across the aisle when necessary. She was someone who had respect from Republican and Democratic colleagues that she worked close with. You know, the other thing to keep in mind about Senator Feinstein is her legacy in multiple committees on Capitol Hill. She was not just a pivotal part of the Judiciary Committee where, you know, nominations and fights over Supreme Court nominations are front and center.

She was also the first chairman, the first female chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. And her legacy in fighting for the release of what is now known as the Torture Report, which looked over the enhanced interrogation techniques that had happened under the Bush administration. She at times went toe to toe with the Obama administration to get that information out, to get it out to the public, because she thought it was essential for telling the story of what had happened in America, its history and what should be avoided in the future.

So she is someone who at times has bucked her party. And she is someone who at times has been a leader within her party. So obviously, her loss is going to be felt tremendously on Capitol Hill. We are still waiting to get more information, though, from both her colleagues who are going to be mourning her absence from the Senate, but also getting more information and details surrounding her death.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, Lauren Fox for those details.

Let's now go to the White House where Priscilla Alvarez. Is Senator Feinstein was a big backer of Joe Biden over her fellow California and Kamala Harris, back in 2020? Is there any reaction so far now as to the White House's reaction to her death? PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we've reached out to the White House for comment on this. They have not yet responded. Now, President Biden has repeatedly touted her accomplishments in the past as a senator that he himself worked alongside. And in talking about her again, in the past, President Biden has noted her work on gun violence, her work on civil rights as well as environmental protections.

And the last statement that we have from him was in February of this year, that was when Senator Feinstein had announced that she would go through -- work through the end of her term, but not seek reelection in 2024. And at the time, what the President said in his statement was this. He said through force of will, she led the fight to get the assault weapons ban pass, like so many who have been touched by gun violence. That victory was personal for her.

He went on to say she is a passionate defender of civil liberties, and a strong voice for national security policies that keep us safe, while honoring our values. A lifelong California, she has worked tirelessly to protect our environment for future generations. And he ended this statement by saying, I've served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best.

Again, this is a statement from President Biden as of February of this year, when we learned about her retirement when she served the entirety of her term. But this again, is going to be personal for the President who worked alongside her. We're expecting to get a statement. At some point today, we've reached out it hasn't come down just yet.

And I should also note that the senator had attended an event here at the White House in December, for the Same Sex Marriage Act. So she has been here supporting the President and his policies over the course of the President's administration.

BOLDUAN: All right, Priscilla, thank you so much. We're going to be -- she's going to be standing by and bringing us a statement we hear from President Biden, which I'm sure will be coming very soon.

Phil Mattingly here with us as well. I mean, Phil, we've stood side by side for years covering DiFi together. She I mean in her advanced age, she was frail for quite some time, and she was missing for months. But still the impact first and foremost, Dianne Feinstein the barriers she broke, the position she took, the bills she backed, it's hard to sum it up.

MATTINGLY: I don't know that there is a more powerful politician to come out of California, with the exception of Speaker Nancy Pelosi than Senator Dianne Feinstein. And I think to some degree that's been the unfortunate part of what's happened over the course of the last several months and the focus on it because people now identify maybe who haven't followed it as long as we have involved politics haven't been on the Capitol Hill, identify Senator Feinstein with questions about age, questions about health, or decision to stay in the United States Senate. [09:10:16]

If you track back her career from her first elected positions on the board of supervisors in San Francisco, to the moment when she was not only president and board, supervisor, but then became mayor because of the assassination of the mayor and Harvey Milk. And the steady hand that she had in the wake of that period, a very, very tumultuous period.

And then coming in with this class of senators in 1992, and changing the shape of an institution that had forever been white, old and male, and not just changing it because she was a participant. I mean, she was a critical, critical player, chair of several committees, really big issues, taking on serious entrenched interests, and making an impact. And I think that's the legacy of Senator Feinstein not necessarily what we've seen over the course of the last year or two.

SIDNER: Yes. It's one of the reasons why people wanted to keep her in the position that she was in because she is so powerful. She's on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She's on the Intelligence Committee. She's on the Appropriations Committee. What happens now, as everyone deals with the fact that she is now gone, they will mourn her, but they still have to do the work.

MATTINGLY: They still do the work. I mean, I think the replacement, it's worth noting in terms of how California has lost work and what the next step goes. This isn't a situation where oftentimes in these moments, you have a governor of a different party. We have a process and it where things are open question.

And I also think that at least based on people that I've been talking to you over the course of the last couple of months, there have been some preparations, not they knew that Feinstein was going to step down. They didn't know what was going to happen if she was going to, because she'd been absent so often whether or not she was going to step down before the end of her term, or a situation like this would occur.

So there have been preparations for it. It'll be interesting to see how fast things move. Obviously, the majority in the United States Senate is very, very slim. But my sense of things leading up to this moment before today, was that there had been preparations in place, and people were aware of what was going on.

But I also think the reason why that has not kind of spilled out into the public is because of the respect for the legacy and not wanting to get in front it.

BOLDUAN: The math of the Senate remains the same the way it works in California, as you're getting at Phil is Governor Gavin Newsom. He will announce a replacement in the interim while her seat was up in 24. She announced her retirement. She was not going to be running for reelection. And there are, I think, three sitting members of Congress who are running for her seat that's been announced so far.

So the math doesn't change, so that question that is set aside. But it is still it -- but it doesn't -- it almost talking about it almost diminishes the impact that I think she had, I mean, hearing the strength that she had, the voice that she had, I just remember, she was always the person that we could go to, to try to get a read coming off the floor of what was really happening.

And one thing that I'm kind of -- I'm thinking of now is her staff. She -- her staff was so devoted to her, in my time covering her and protective firm, for a long time that I think of them today. And I don't know when they heard the news. I'm sure those details will come out. But you have to think of all the tireless lawyers that stood by her side and fought along with her for so long.

MATTINGLY: I think it's a great point, because I think what people don't often see when it comes to the United States Senate especially and also the House to some degree as well as you can often judge the effectiveness or talent of United States senator by the people that they have around them, the talent of their staff, the willingness of their staff to kind of go above and beyond, it's not a super high paying job.

And then where are those staffers go later, which I think also kind of underscores that talent. And in terms of a team around her, particularly when she was in Senate Intel, but also judiciary as well, it was the staff represented a senator that had real juice, a real legacy, but also when she wanted to get things done, she could get things done.

And as you guys know well in that chamber, it's not always easy to get things done, or anything done, depending on the day so.

SIDNER: Yes. Can you give us some sense of the impact this is going to have just in general on the entire Congress as they go through? We are in a shutdown basically, we are a day away from this. And they are haggling over this, the power that she's had and the removal of that power, what that's going to mean?

MATTINGLY: You know, it's interesting, I don't know that there's necessarily kind of a micro effect to this moment in particular. I think what I think probably the way I would frame it, and which has been kind of I've been thinking through constantly over the course of the last several years is that there was a different generation of the United States Senate which looked very, very different from the United States House, of which Senator Feinstein was a critical and central player of.

And more and more of those individual it's not to say I'm not nostalgic and saying that was the best days or those are the best days. But those kind of central pillars of an institution that had very clear traditions and very clear ways of operating and was very different from the U.S. House of Representatives, more and more over the course of the years have left, have passed away, have decided to move on or have lost election.

[09:15:20]

And I think she is another one of, we call them and this is not a pejorative term, like the old bulls in the Senate, who they were chairs and the chairs had to be listened to and leadership perspective them and had to do what they said. And it's become more of a top down institution, much like the U.S. House and a lot of House members.

BOLDUAN: I'm just looking at these pictures and you're like in these photos are exactly you're talking about. You're seeing Harry Reid, you're seeing --

MATTINGLY: Which just a different institution now than it was and I think the moments like we're seeing today, and it's about to happen this weekend, underscore that transition and shift that's taken place over the last decade.

SIDNER: For new generation.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Let's bring in CNN's Dana Bash for more on this. Dana, just your thoughts, first and foremost, about the passing of Dianne Feinstein.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: It's very sad, very, very sad. What an extraordinary, extraordinary woman and extraordinary life and extraordinary career. I as Phil, and you, Kate have, we had the privilege of covering her for years, I was able to spend time with her both in the United States Senate and at home in San Francisco. I actually did a profile on her --

BOLDUAN: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

BASH: -- after Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. We were sitting around and talking about women and the question of whether a woman would ever become president, Abigail Crutchfield and Rachel Smolkin and others here. And it dawned on us that there are so many women who have done amazing things, and let's profile them.

Our very first profile was on Dianne Feinstein. And she just had so many incredible insights about what it took to do what she did, becoming the first female senator to represent the very large state of California. And also what happened before that. You've been talking a little bit about, yes, we have been focused on her career in the Senate, which is very rich and very vast. But what happened before she got there.

And she was in the mayor's office in San Francisco because of tragedy, because of the assassination of Harvey Milk, and also the mayor of San Francisco. And she was the one who came out and announced it that night late at night. And it was that moment, that unbelievable tragedy, that not only propelled her to 10 years in the mayor's office but what drove her lifelong push for gun control and the assault weapons ban which of course lapsed and then she tried unsuccessfully to get back in.

And there are just so many aspects of her life and what happened in her life that shaped her. One thing I do want to just looking back on some of the things that she told me it was back in 2017. And you'll all appreciate this. When she first got into politics, she went to Stanford University. And when she first got into politics, people said something must be wrong with her, she must have a bad marriage. Why is she doing this?

That was the only reason people couldn't even conceive of the fact that a woman would get into politics and wanted to -- want to be in public service, the way that she was and the way that she succeeded, and of course, exceeded expectations for all those decades.

SIDNER: Yes. Dana, she didn't just get into politics. I mean, she was a master at it. And held a very -- a lot of strength in front of all of those men that she was sitting beside. I'm curious what for you this means and if there's anything in particular that really stands out about her legacy, because there have been so many years since 1992. She has been there and doing work, what stands out? What do you think of the things that are really going to stand out in her legacy?

BASH: Well, first and foremost, her fortitude when it comes to gun control, and again, as I mentioned, because of her very real, very tragic experience, when she was there that day, the day that her two friends and colleagues were assassinated in San Francisco. And then the work that she did on the international stage on national security on intelligence. Phil was talking about the fact that she really bucked her fellow Democrats, the Obama administration.

[09:20:00]

They were not happy when she demanded and forced the release of the what had been the classified report about enhanced interrogation. They didn't want it to be out there. And she said, no, the public has a right to know. In fact, I remember the day I was following her down the hallway the day that she was going from her office to the Senate floor, when she was going to push for the release of that and her husband, who also passed away leave in the last year or two, Richard Blum was there.

And I said something like, you know, your wife is a badass, right? And people didn't really use the term as much then. And he looked at me kind of like, what are you saying about my wife? I said, no, no, that's a good thing. But let me just -- yes, yes, exactly. I asked her what she wanted her legacy to be. And I asked her what she would tell to women who wanted to be the next Dianne Feinstein.

And then she of course, joked, wait, there are some without missing a beat, this is back in 2017. And she said, Ron, prepare yourself. So many times I've seen it happen in the Senate elections, talented young women, go for the top first. You can't do that. Start young and, you know, with a commission or a committee or a special effort, earn your spurs. And then this is the key, really was telling, you don't drop out, you take defeat after defeat after defeat. But you keep going.

SIDNER: Wow. It's powerful.

BOLDUAN: Dick Durbin, one of the Democratic, you know, one of the top Democrats in the Senate, he just put out it he just put out a statement, Dana, and in part of it he says, she was always a lady. But she never backed down from a cause that she thought was worth fighting for. You just look at the record of the things that she achieved, the assault weapons ban, Violence Against Women Act, a real stand up effort to defend the Intelligence Committee at a time when it was under assault.

And Durbin says, I'm going to miss her. We lost one of the great ones. It's important to hear from those voices who served alongside her for so long.

BASH: It is. And you know, it is a reminder and I don't want to dwell too much about on the last couple of years, except to make the following point, which is the reverence and the admiration and the love that she had, particularly on the Senate Committee, not just from Democrats, but from Republicans, who, to be blunt, tried to protect her and to make it so that she could do whatever she needed to do and wanted to do.

I mean, the most staunch Republicans, those who don't agree with her on pretty much anything, policy wise or politically, but admired her so, so much, really worked to help her in the in the late last couple of years. Can I just tell you -- show you something else that I don't know if a lot of people know about her?

She was a very talented painter. In fact, this is something that I have in my office -- I had in my office. You can see it. This is one of many of Dianne Feinstein's --

BOLDUAN: When did you get that? That's beautiful.

BASH: You know what she gave it to me when I was with her in San Francisco.

BOLDUAN: Really?

BASH: And it's called Washington Spring. And she was a very talented painter. And she used to -- I know she painted a lot. And I bet you I'm one of many, many people in and around Washington and California and points beyond that have the privilege of having one of her one of her paintings.

SIDNER: And just to talk about her remarkableness, I do want to say we just heard from Morgan Rimmer, who's here at CNN. And the last vote that Senator Dianne Feinstein took in the Senate was yesterday morning, and what was it on, the procedural vote for short term government funding, the thing that is being battled over in the most insane way right now in the House. And so it's just goes to show she works to the very last day.

BOLDUAN: That's why Dianne Feinstein would have wanted that.

SIDNER: Exactly. Let's go now to Lauren Fox. She's on Capitol Hill, we are getting more reaction now. What are you hearing?

FOX: Yes. We're getting reaction from both Republican and Democratic senators. But I want to take a moment to read the statement from Senator Chris Murphy. As you know, he is a Senator from Connecticut, and he has been fighting for gun control since that massacre at an elementary school in Sandy Hook.

And his argument is that Senator Feinstein's legacy here has really built a foundation for a movement over the last several decades and I want to read part of it. He said, Dianne Feinstein will go down as a heroic, historic American leader. I am so grateful I got to know her and serve with her. She was the first woman to serve as the Mayor of San Francisco, the longest serving woman in the Senate and an early and fearless champion of the gun safety movement, and author of the monumental assault weapons ban of 1994.

[09:25:15]

For a long time between 1994 and the tragedy in Newtown in 2012, Dianne was often a lonely but unwavering voice on the issue of gun violence. The modern anti-gun violence movement, now more powerful than the gun lobby simply would not exist without Dianne's moral leadership. My thoughts are with her, her family, friends, loved ones and members of her staff as we all grieve this tremendous loss.

And obviously statements are pouring in from lawmakers across the aisle as well. But I wanted to read that statement because of what it means. It's sort of this moment where you have Feinstein's legacy, her fight for gun control, the torch being passed to other generations of leaders on Capitol Hill. And Chris Murphy has really taken up that mantle since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

So just sort of giving you a sense of how that has transpired over time, what her legacy means to the people who are still fighting for causes that she helped champion originally.

BOLDUAN: So glad you brought that up. I'm really -- I -- this is one of those days that hearing these statements and hearing the reaction from those in the Senate -- those who have served around her and with her is really important. Are there, Lauren, in the midst of this, what could we see on -- in the Senate today do you think or on the Hill? Do you think we could -- they can quickly, you know, adjust the day and adjust the schedule to -- I mean, do you think we're going to see, you know, the lowering of the flag? But what do you think we could be seeing today, as this kind of starts setting in in the Capitol and beyond in Washington, of just the loss of such a great?

FOX: Yes. I think you're going to see a lot of her colleagues really grieving this loss. I think you're going to see a lot of her colleagues sort of looking at each other in this moment, as we are on the cusp of a government shutdown, wondering, what would Senator Feinstein do in this situation? And is there a way that we can get out of this crisis?

And obviously, you know, this is a day on Capitol Hill where lawmakers are here, rarely on a Friday. They are here today to try and avert the shutdown, with really very little hope inside that they'll be able to do that. So you know, I expect that you're going to see her colleagues talk about her legacy and what it means for them today. And specifically, whether or not there is a way out of this current crisis, and what she would have done. Kate?

SIDNER: Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

You know, as we look through this, and you look through her legacy, you know, a lot of people who have come later in life to politics and watching politics, they see what she is like now, and what she has gone through in the last year or so. But her incredible movement to a position of power as the only woman in that position is remarkable. And then what she was able to do what she was able to wrangle is remarkable.

And I think sometimes that gets lost when you see the things that are happening right now. It's what everybody is talking about age and, you know, all these other things, some of the medical history that she had. She has now passed away. I want to go now to Priscilla Alvarez to see if you're hearing anything now from the White House, as we start hearing from some of her colleagues on the Hill, who are going through their memories, but also really putting forward what she has meant to the institution and what she has meant to America as a whole.

ALVAREZ: Sara, we haven't yet heard from the White House, but we fully anticipate that we will because this too, is personal for President Biden, who served alongside her when he himself was a senator. And in the past, he has touted her legacy, noting what we have heard from our colleagues, her work on gun violence, her work on environmental protections, and civil rights.

And in February of this year, the President released a statement when she had announced that she would not seek reelection. And in it, he put it quite simply, he said, quote, I have served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best.

So we anticipate hearing from the White House on this. We have also seen her at events here at the White House before. In December, for example, she was here for the signing of the Same Sex Marriage Act. So she has been a supporter of this White House of the President. And we should also note that later this morning, we will see President Biden when he delivers remarks for the ceremony ending the tenure of General Mark Milley.

And so we'll see whether he weighs in on this then. But there is no doubt, Sara and Kate, that this is personal for a President who also served alongside her and one of -- in her many moments in her legacy as Senator.

[09:30:07]

BOLDUAN: Priscilla, keep us updated on what you're hearing.