(CNN) - High-ranking Democratic senators may shift committees following the death Monday of longtime Sen. Daniel Inouye, who chaired the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
The senior Democrat on the spending panel is considering taking over as chairman, a Democratic source said. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont currently chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, a position he would have to give up if he took over Appropriations. If he does, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, currently the chairwoman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee is poised to take over the Judiciary panel, another Democratic aide said. The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over gun control laws, an issue Feinstein has championed.
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(CNN) – Lawmakers tend to stay quiet in the immediate aftermath of mass shootings, hoping to avoid attempts to politicize such tragedy.
But two days after the attack that took the lives of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school, lawmakers were eager to take on the gun debate Sunday - with many saying a tipping point had finally been reached to pass stricter laws.
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(CNN) – Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Sunday the president will soon have legislation "to lead on" in the gun control debate, announcing she will introduce a bill next month in the Senate to place a ban on assault weapons.
"We'll be prepared to go, and I hope the nation will really help," Feinstein said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
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(CNN) – Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman, said she hopes to talk to Gen. David Petraeus and will urge him to testify on the Benghazi, Libya attacks as previously scheduled.
"I believe he will. I think he's a responsible person and I believe he will come. We are going to try to set that up today," she said in an interview to air Tuesday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."
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Washington (CNN) – An angry Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein warned again Monday she would investigate why the FBI did not notify oversight committees about its probe into CIA Director David Petreaus after the bureau determined he was having a secret and risky extramarital affair.
"...A decision was made somewhere not to brief us, which is atypical," the California Democrat told NBC's Andrea Mitchell about how the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate intelligence committees are usually briefed on key developments. "This is certainly an operationally sensitive matter. But we weren't briefed. I don't know who made that decision."
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(CNN) – The top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that the length of the FBI's investigation into David Petraeus' extramarital affair raises serious questions about the government's response to potentially comprised intelligence.
Rep. Peter King, who made the remarks on CNN's "State of the Union," joined Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in expressing concern over how the FBI and other federal agencies handled the investigation into the former CIA director’s affair, and specifically why members of Congress with oversight over intelligence and homeland security weren't briefed on the discoveries.
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Washington (CNN) - Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN CIA Director David Petraeus' resignation is "tragic for this human being" and for the country. "He loved the job, had a big design for the job," she said.
Feinstein also made the point that "people are going to say he's a scapegoat for Benghazi and that's absolutely false," referring to the controversy over the timeline of the terror attack at the U.S. mission in Libya that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. "I know what the personal story is. It is not a cover up."
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(CNN) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, on Tuesday walked back recent comments accusing the White House of leaking national security information and blasted Mitt Romney for using her remarks in a speech on foreign policy.
"I am disappointed by the statements made by Mr. Romney today regarding a question I was asked yesterday at the World Affairs Council," Feinstein said in a statement.
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(CNN) - The heads of the Senate and House intelligence committees said Sunday the Taliban was gaining ground, just days after President Barack Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan and touted the progress made in the war on terror.
“I think we'd both say that what we found is that the Taliban is stronger,” said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on CNN’s “State of the Union,” while sitting with Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan.
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Washington (CNN) - Making her case for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday that Americans are now more open to homosexuality.
"As time goes on, what I find is more and more people have gay friends, they have gay relatives," Feinstein said on CNN's "State of the Union." "People are much more forward with their thinking about this now. I think they're much more open to it."
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