Nikki Haley says pushing out Dianne Feinstein isn't sexist because the 89-year-old senator has proven she 'can no longer do her job'

Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California

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• 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said absentee Sen. Dianne Feinstein should resign now.
• Nancy Pelosi and other defenders have said Feinstein's being held to a sexist double standard.
• Haley maintains that removing Feinstein is necessary because she's no longer "up to the job."

2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has joined the chorus of voices telling 89-year-old Dianne Feinstein to end her Senate career now, writing that ousting the longstanding California Democrat isn't sexist because "she's in significant mental and physical decline." 

Haley, 51, has made phasing out aging politicians — including 76-year-old GOP frontrunner Donald Trump — a cornerstone of her nearly 3-month-old White House bid. She took the shot at Feinstein, which included a dig at delegation mate and defender Rep. Nancy Pelosi, both online and in an op-ed piece she wrote for Fox News. 

"Sorry @SpeakerPelosi: @SenFeinstein should resign. And that's not sexist,"  Haley tweeted in response to Pelosi and others rallying to Feinstein's side during her months-long absence from Capitol Hill. 

Feinstein has missed dozens of votes in the narrowly divided Senate while recovering from a shingles outbreak, prompting members within her own party to call for the veteran lawmaker to immediately retire rather than serving out the rest of her term as she had planned. 

While she praised Feinstein as a political trailblazer, Haley said that's ancient history. "It's been obvious for quite some time that she's in significant mental and physical decline," Haley wrote online, billing Feinstein as "a prime example of why we need mental competency tests for politicians."

"This is not about whether someone is a woman," Haley added. "It's about whether they are up to the job." 

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