WASHINGTON _ Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will become the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which weighs attorney general nominees, as well as nominations to the Supreme Court and other courts, in January.
As the most powerful Democrat on the committee, Feinstein will play a major role in how President-elect Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees are treated and vetted.
"When President-elect Trump is willing to support responsible policies and nominees, I'll hear him out, but this committee has a vital role to protect the Constitution and scrutinize policies, senior officials and judges very carefully, and that's what we intend to do," she said in a statement. "We simply won't stand aside and watch the tremendous successes achieved over the past eight years be swept away or allow our nation's most vulnerable populations to be targeted."
Feinstein was a vocal critic of Republicans' decision not to consider President Barack Obama's nominee to the high court, Merrick Garland, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
In 1992, Feinstein became the first woman to serve on the Judiciary Committee, and she will be the first woman and the first Californian to serve as its highest ranking Democrat. She said that makes the position especially meaningful.
"It's a special honor to be the first woman to become ranking member of this committee, not to mention the first Californian," she said in a statement. "This committee, which touches the lives of so many Americans, will face many tough issues in the coming years, and I'll do my level best to represent all Americans."
The power reshuffling came after Senate Democrats picked their chamber leaders Wednesday. The committee's current ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will become the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., will replace Feinstein as vice chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee.
