US Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, has relinquished power of attorney to her 66-year-old daughter Katherine, local media has reported.
The elderly politician reportedly made this move in part to help with the ongoing litigations related to the estate of the late Richard Blum, investment banker and Dianne Feinstein’s husband who passed away last February at the age of 86.
Last week, Feinstein made headlines when she appeared confused during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
In May, Feinstein also refused to acknowledge the fact that she spent three months away from Washington DC while recovering from shingles-related complications, telling reporters who queried her on her absence that she has been working and voting at US Congress all that time.
Feinstein, however, is far from the only US politician whose advanced age and mental acuity prompt concerns from the public.
Last month, the 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also made quite an impression on both the media and the public when he suddenly froze during a press conference, stopping speaking mid-sentence and staring in front of him before being ushered away.
And while the White House physicians continue to insist that US President Joe Biden, 80, is fit to execute his duties, his numerous gaffes and his sometimes outright strange behavior led many to wonder exactly how sound of mind he is.