Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Friday said he spoke with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) before announcing his decision to run for a Senate seat next year.
In an interview with “CNN This Morning,” Schiff said Feinstein had been “generous” and “accepting” of her candidacy.
“We talked on the phone a few days ago and met before,” he said.
Feinstein told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that she would finalize the plan “probably in a few months,” as she was still processing the death of her husband, who died last year. He added that it was “good” for people to participate in the race.
“I think people should,” she said. “If they want to run, run.”
Feinstein, who has faced questions about her fitness to serve, will turn 91 at the start of next season.
But Schiff suggested age shouldn’t determine whether a candidate will run.
“I think that age really depends on the ability of the members, and I do not know that there is a certain age beyond which one should not run for office,” he said.
Feinstein is expected to retire soon.
Schiff, however, said Feinstein should be given the opportunity to make her own choice.
“They’ve earned the right to make decisions about their own schedule, and I want to give them the space and distance to do that,” Schiff told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
The race for the seat is heating up. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) was the first to announce her candidacy earlier this month, earning a major endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) is also reportedly mulling a run, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is also considering jumping in.
Schiff is often targeted by the GOP for his role as the impeachment manager in the first Senate trial of Donald Trump and then as a member of the House selection committee that investigated the uprising on January 6, 2021. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced that he would not allow Schiff and fellow Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to serve on the House Intelligence Committee.
Trump called McCarthy’s decision a “good move.”
“These are the two true SlimeBalls in the World!” Trump wrote in Social Truth.
Schiff vowed to continue fighting for democracy despite the GOP attacks.
“I never back down from this tough fight, and you know, it’s sad that if Donald Trump becomes the leader of the party, then our values, our country, our democracy will be at risk,” he said. .