Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

And we thank her for her decades of service to this country. All of our thoughts with her family. We will continue this breaking News Coverage the death of senator Dianne Feinstein continues now with cnn news central. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. And we do continue with the breaking news, Scrat Cdemocrati senator Dianne Feinstein has passed away at the age of 90 years old. We have of course seen the senators struggles with her health in recent years, she has been previously hospitalized in august after a fall. We now want to get to Cnns Wolf Blitzer who is taking a look back at her life and incredible legacy. Announcer Dianne Feinstein emerged on the National Stage after a 1978 tragedy in San Francisco. Mayor moss coney and supervisor harvey milk have been shot and killed. Reporter after the Assassinations Feinstein was sworn in as the first female mayor of the city by the bay. Mayor feinstein quickly got the attention of the National Democratic party on a short list of vp candidates for Walter Mondale in 1984. We will take back our unity. Reporter feinstein made it to washington when she won a special election in 1992 and went to the nations capitol with Barbara Boxer as californias first female senators. I won among men, i won among women, i won in every age level and every ethnic group. Now, what that says is that to me the fact that im a woman is there, but its incidental. Reporter the assassinations that made her a mayor also made her an outspoken advocate for gun control. Feinstein was crucial in passing the 1994 federal ban on assault when sneens ive seen assassination, ive seen killing, ive been a mayor. I know what these guns can do. Why is it every man comes before me sand says, nice, lady, you really dont know. Reporter she was unsuccessful in renewing the legislation in 2004, but she didnt give up. Resurfacing the bill after the Sandy Hook Massacre and going toe to toe with conservative senator ted cruz. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in, i saw people shot. Ive looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. Reporter she was the first female member of the Senate Judiciary committee and the first woman to lead the Senate Intelligence committee. Considered a moderate democrat, she often challenged her own party with her pro Death Penalty stance. After donald trump was elected president feinstein got groans from Hometown Democrats when she encouraged her party to be patient with him. I just hope he has the ability to learn and to change and if he does, he can be a good president and thats my hope. Senator feinstein, thats another beauty. Reporter but feinstein was hardly a favorite of president trump, especially when her committees investigation of Sexual Misconduct allegations against Breath Kavanaugh nearly dee krald his nomination to the u. S. Supreme court. Id like to find out who leaked the papers. Was it Senator Feinstein . Reporter as her oopt party shifted to the left during the Trump Administration feinstein did the say announcing officially in 2018 she no longer supported the Death Penalty. I dont want to not grow. I dont want to not learn and the world changes and views change. Reporter by the Time Feinstein was elected to a fifth full term in 2018 she was the oldest sitting u. S. Senator. In February 2023 she announced that she would not be running for reelection. Later that year Health Problems kept her off the job for three months, holding up approval of several judicial nominees. Some democrats called for her to resign, but she kept going. Dianne feinstein often led the way for women and men on the hill with a dedication to Public Service and an uncommon resilience. Life is filled with defeats and you just pick yourself up and you go on. Just a brief really a brief summary of such a storied political career. Cnns lauren fox is on the hill. Lauren, this is hitting hard today. Are you getting any reaction and response from anyone yet . Reporter yeah, this is just breaking, obviously, so we are still waiting on some key reaction from Senate Leaders and house leadership, but obviously senator Dianne Feinstein had a Legacy On Capitol Hill and she was known not just for what she did in terms of her legislative career and its important to point out that she was a fierce advocate for gun control, the architect of that 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, but she also was someone who tried at times to reach across the aisle when necessary, she was someone who had respect from republican and democratic colleagues that she worked close with. You know, the other thing to keep in mind about Senator Feinstein is her legacy in multiple committees on capitol hill. She was not just a pivotal part of the judiciary committee, where, you know, nominations and fights over Supreme Court nominations are front and center, she was also the first chairman, the first female chairman, of the Senate Intelligence committee and her legacy in fighting for the release of what is now known as the torture report, which looked over the enhanced Interrogation Techniques that had happened under the bush administration, she at times went toe to toe with the Obama Administration to get that information out, to get it out to the public because she thought it was essential for telling the story of what had happened in americas history and what should be avoided in the future. So she is someone who at times has bucked her party and she is someone who at times has been a leader within her party. So obviously her loss is going to be felt tremendously on capitol hill. We are still waiting to get more information, though, from both her colleagues who are going to be mourning her absence from the senate, but also getting more information and details surrounding her death. All right. Thank you so much, lauren fox. For those details. Lets now go to the white house where Priscilla Alvarez is. Senator dine fine was a big backer of joe biden over her fellow Californian Kamala Harris back in 2020. There was any reaction so far now as to the white houses reaction to her death . Reporter weve reached out to the white house for comment on this. They have not yet responded. President biden has repeatedly touted her accomplishments in the past as a senator that he himself worked alongside, and in talking about her, again, in the past President Biden has noted her work on gun violence, her work on civil rights as well as environmental protections and the last statement that we have from him was in february of this year, that was when Senator Feinstein had announced that she would go through work through the end of her term but not seek reelection in 2024. At the time what the president said in his statement was this, he said, through force of will she led the fight to get the Assault Weapons Ban passed, like so many have been touched by gun violence that victory was personal for her. She is a passionate defender of Civil Liberties and a strong voice for National Security policies that keep us safe while honoring our values. A lifelong californian. She has worked tirelessly to protect our environment for future generations. He ended this statement by saying, ive served with more u. S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best. Again, this is a statement from President Biden in february of this year when we learned about her retirement when she served the entirety of her term, but this, again, is going to be personal for the president who worked alongside her. We are expecting to get a statement at some point today. We have reached out. It hasnt come down just yet. I should also note that the senator had attended an event here at the white house in december for the samesex marriage act. So she has been here supporting the president and his policies over the course of the president s administration. Priscilla, thank you so much. Were going to be shes going to be standing by and bringing us a statement when we hear from President Biden which im sure will be coming very soon. Phil mattingly here with us as well. Weve stood sidebyside for years covering di fi together. She in her advanced age she was frail for quite some time and she was missing for months, but still the impact of Dianne Feinstein, the barriers she broke, the positions she took, the bills she backed, its hard to sum it up. I dont know that there is a more powerful politician to come out of california with the exception of Speaker Nancy Pelosi than senator Dianne Feinstein, i think to some degree thats been the unfortunate part of whats happened over the course of the last several months and the focus on it because people now identify maybe who havent followed it as long as we have, havent followed politics or been on capitol hill identify Senator Feinstein about questions with age or health or to say in the senate. If you track back her career from her first elected positions on the Board Of Supervisors in San Francisco to the moment when she was not only president of Board Supervisors but then became mayor of the because of the assassination of the mayor and harvey milk and the steady hand that she had in the wake of that period, a very actuality tuesday period and then coming in with this class of sfarts in 1992 and changing the shape of an institution that had forever been white, old and male. Not just changing it because she was a participant, she was a critical, critical player, chair of several committees, really big issues, taking on serious entrenched interests and making an impact. I think thats the thats the legacy of Senator Feinstein, not necessarily what weve seen over the course of the last year or two. Its one of the reasons people wanted to keep her in the position she was in because she is so powerful, shes on the Senate Judiciary committee, on the Intelligence Committee, on the appropriations committee. What happens now as everyone deals with the fact that she is now gone . They will mourn her, but they still have to do the work. They still have to do the work. I think the replacement its worth noting in terms of how californias laws work and what the next step goes, this isnt a situation where oftentimes in these moments you have a governor of a different party, a process where things are open question. I also think that at least based on people that ive been talking to over the course of the last couple of months there have been preparations not that they knew feinstein was going to step down, bus she had been absent so often whether or not she was going to step down before the end of her term or a situation like this would occur. There have been preparations for t it will be interesting to see how fast things move. Obviously the majority in the United States senate is very, very slim, but my sense of things leading up to this moment before today was that there had been preparations in place and people were aware of what was going on, but i also think the reason why that has not spilled out into the public is because of the respect for the legacy and not wanting to get in front of this. The math of the Senate Remains the same, watt i it works in california is governor gavin newsom he will announce a replacement in the interim while her seat was up in 24, she announced her retirement, she was not going to be running for reelection and there are, i think, three sitting members of congress who are running running for her seat thats been announced so far. So the math doesnt change. So that question, that is set aside, but it is still but it doesnt almost talking about it almost dim she is the impact i think she had. Hearing the strength that she had, the voice that she had, i just remember she was always the person that we could go to to try to get a read coming off the floor of what was really happening. One thing that im kind of im thinking of now is her staff. Her staff was so devoted to her in my time covering her and protective of her for a long time that i think of them today. I dont know when they heard the news, im sure those details will come out, but you have to think of all of the tireless lawyers that stood by her side and fought along with her for so long. I think its a great point. What people dont often see when it comes to the United States senate, especially but also the house to some degree as well is you can often judge the effectiveness or talent of a u. S. State senator by the talent they have around them, the talent of their staff and the willingness to go Above And Beyond and where the staffers go later. In terms of a team around her, particularly when she was at senate intel but also at judiciary as well, it was the staff represented a senator that had real juice, a real legacy, but also when she wanted to get things done she could get things done. As you guys know well in that chamber its not always easy to get things done or anything done depending on the day. Can you give us some sense of the impact that this is going to have just in general on the entire congress as they go through, we are in a shutdown basically, we are a day away from this and they are haggling over this. The power shes had and the removal of that power, what thats going to mean. Its interesting. I dont know that theres necessarily a micro effect to this moment in particular. I think what i think probably the way i would frame it, which has been kind of ive been thinking it through constantly over the course of the last several years, is that there is a different generation of the United States senate which looked very, very different from the senates house of which Senator Feinstein was a critical and central player of. More and more of those individuals im not nostalgic in saying those were the best days, but those kind of central pillars of an institution that had very clear traditions and very clear ways of operating and was very different from the u. S. House of representatives more and more over the course of the years have left, have passed away, have decided to move on or have lost election. I think she is another one of we call them and its not a pejorative term, the old bulls in the senate, the chairs you had to listen them. Its become more of a top down institution. Im looking at these pictures, in these photos are exactly what you are talking b youre seeing harry reid, youre seeing its just a Different Institution now than it was and i think the moments like were seeing today and thats about to happen this weekend underscore that transition and shift thats taken place over the last decade. Lets bring in cnns dana bash for more on this. Dana, just your thoughts, first and foremost, about the passing of Dianne Feinstein. Its very sad. Very, very sad. What an extraordinary, extraordinary woman and extraordinary life and extraordinary career. I, as phil and you, kate, have we had the privilege of covering her for years. I was able to spend time with her both in the United States senate and at home in San Francisco, i actually did a profile on her. Yes. After Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, we were sitting around and talking about women and the question of whether a woman would ever become president. An Gail Crutch Field and Rachel Smol Kin and others here. And it dawned on us that theres so many women that have done Amazing Things and lets profile them. Our very first profile was on Dianne Feinstein. Thats right. She just had so many incredible insights about what it took to do what she did, becoming the first female senator to represent the very large state of california, and also what happened before that. Youve been talking a little bit about, yes, we have been focused on her career in the senate, which is very rich and very vast, but what happened before she got there . And she was in the Mayors Office in San Francisco because of tragedy, because of the assassination of harvey milk and also the mayor of San Francisco. She was the one who came out and announced it that night, late at night. It was that moment that unbelievable tragedy that not only propelled her to ten years in the Mayors Office, but what drove her lifelong push for gun control and the Assault Weapons Ban which of course lapsed and then she tried unsuccessfully to get back in. And there are just so many aspects of her life and what happened in her life that shaped her. One thing i do want to, just looking back on some of the things that she told me was back in 2017 and you will all appreciate this, when she first got into politics she went to Stanford University and when she first got into politics people said something must be wrong with her. She must have a bad marriage. Why is she doing this . That was the only reason people could even conceive of the fact that a woman would get into politics and want to be in Public Service the way that she was and the way that she succeeded and of course exceeded expectations for all those decades. Dana, she didnt just get into politics, she was a master at it and held a very a lot of strength in front of all of those men that she was sitting beside. I am curious what for you this means and if theres anything in particular that really stands out about her legacy because there have been so many years since 1992 she has been she has been there and doing work. What stands out . What do you think of the things that are really going to stand out in her legacy . Well, first and foremost, her fortitude when it comes to gun control and, again, as i mentioned, because of her very real, very tragic experience. I mean, she was there that day, the day that her two friends and colleagues were assassinated in San Francisco. And then the work that she did on the interNational Stage on National Security, on intelligence. Phil was talking about the fact that she really bucked her fellow democrats, the Obama Administration, they were not happy when she demanded and forced the release of the what had been the classified report about enhanced interrogation. They didnt want it to be out there and she said, no the public has a right to know. In fact, i remember the day, i was following her down the hallway the day that she was going from her office to the senate floor when she was going to push for the release of that and her husband, who also passed away, i believe, in the last year or two, richard blum, was there. I said something like, you know, your wife is a bad ass, right . And people didnt really use the term as much then and he looked at me kind of like what are you saying about my wife . I said, no, thats a good thing. Generational divide. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I asked her what she wanted her legacy to be, and i asked her what she would tell to women who wanted to be the next Dianne Feinstein and then she of course joked, wait, there are some, without missing a beat. This is back in 2017. And she said run. Prepare yourself. So many times ive seen it happen in senate elections, talented young women go for the top first. You cant do that. Start young and, you know, with a commission or committee or special several. Earn your spurs. And then this is the key, really was telling. You dont drop out. You take defeat after defeat after defeat, but you keep going. Wow. Powerful. Dick durbin, one of the democratic one of the Top Democrats in the senate, he just put out a statement, dana, and in part of it he says, she was always a lady, but she never backed down from a cause that she thought was worth fighting for. Just look at the record of the things that she achieved, the Assault Weapons Ban, violence against women act, A Stand Up Effort to defend the Intelligence Committee at a time it was under assault. Durbin said, im going to miss her. Weve lost one of the great ones. Its important to hear from those voices who served alongside her for so long. It is. And it is a reminder and i dont want to dwell too much on the last couple of years. Right. Except to make the following point, which is, the refrverenc and admiration and the love she had particularly onot just from democrats but republicans who tried to protect her and make it so that she could do whatever she needed to do and wanted to do. The most staunch republicans, those who dont agree with her on pretty much anything, policywise or politically, but admired her so, so much, really worked to help her in the last couple of years. Can i just show you Something Else that i dont know if a lot of people know about her, she was a very talented painter. In fact, this is something that i have in my office, i had in my office, you can see it. This is one of many when did you get that . Thats beautiful. She gave it to me when i was with her in San Francisco. Really . Its called washington spring. Beautiful. She was a very talented painter. I know she painted a lot and i bet you im one of many, many people in and around washington and california and points beyond that have the privilege of having one of her paintings. And just to talk about her remarkableness i do want to say we just heard from morgan rimer who is here at cnn and the last vote that senator Dianne Feinstein took in the senate was yesterday morning. And what was it on . The procedural vote for shortterm government funding, the thing that is being battled over in the most insane way right now in the house. And so its just it goes to show she worked to the very last day. Lets go to lauren fox on capitol hill, we are getting more reaction now. What are you hearing . Reporter were getting reaction from both republican and democratic senators, but i want to take a moment to read the statement from senator chris murphy. As you know, he is a senator from connecticut and he has been fighting for gun control since that massacre at an Elementary School in sandy hook. His argument is that Senator Feinsteins legacy here has really built a foundation for a movement over the last several decades. I want to read part of t he said Dianne Feinstein will go down as a heroic, historic american leader. I am so grateful i got to know her and serve with her. She was the first woman to serve as the mayor of San Francisco, the longest serving woman in the senate and an early and fearless champion of the gun safety movement. An author of the monumental Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, for a long time between 1994 and the tragedy in newtown in 2012 she was often a lonely and unwavering voice on the issue of gun violence. The modern antigun Violence Movement simply would not exist without her moral leadership. My thoughts are with her, her family, friends, loved ones and members of her staff as we all grieve this tremendous loss. Obviously statements are pouring in from lawmakers across the aisle as well but i wanted to read that statement because of what it means. Its sort of a this moment where you have feinsteins legacy, her fight for gun control, the torch being passed to other generations of leaders on capitol hill and chris murphy has taken up that mantel since the massacre at sandy hook Elementary School. Giving you a sense of how that has transpired over time, what her legacy means to the people who are still fighting for causes she helped champion originally. This is one of those days that hearing these statements and hearing the reaction from those on the those who have served around her and with her is really important. Lauren, in the midst of this, what could we see in the senate today, do you think, or on the hill . Do you think we could they can quickly, you know, adjust the day and adjust the schedule to do you think were going to see, you know, the lowering of the flag . What do you think we could be seeing today as this kind of starts setting in in the capitol and beyond On Washington of just the loss of such a great reporter i think youre going to see a lot of her colleagues really grieving this loss. I think youre going to see a lot of her colleagues sort of looking at each other in in moment as we are on the cusp of a Government Shutdown wondering what would Senator Feinstein do in this situation and is there a way that we can get out of this crisis . Obviously this is a day on capitol hill where lawmakers are here rarely on a friday, they are here today to try to avert the shutdown with really very little hope in sight that they will be able to do that. So i expect that youre going to see her colleagues talk about her legacy and what it means for them today and specifically whether or not there is a way out of this Current Crisis and what she would have done. Lauren fox, thank you so much. As we look through this and you look through her legacy a lot of people who have come later in life to politics and watching politics, they see what she is like now and what she has gone through in the last year or so, but her Incredible Movement to a position of power as the only woman in that position is remarkable and then what she was able to do and able to wrangle is remarkable. I think sometimes that gets lost when you see the things that are happening right now is what everybody is talking about, age and, you know, all these other things, some of the medical history that she had. She has now passed away. I want to go now to Priscilla Alvarez to see if youre Hearing Anything now from the white house as we start hearing from some of her colleagues on the hill who are going through their memories but also really putting forward what she has meant to the institution and what she has meant to america as a whole. Reporter share ration we havent yet heard from the white house, but we fully anticipate that we will because this, too, is personal for President Biden who served along her when he, himself, was a senator. In the past he has touted her legacy, noting what we have heard from our colleagues, her work on gun violence, her work on environmental protections and civil rights. In february of this year the president released a statement when she had announced that she would not seek reelection. In it he said, quote, i have served with more u. S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best. So we anticipate hearing from the white house on this. We have also seen her at events here at the white house before in december, for example, she was here for the signing of the samesex marriage act, she has been a supporter of this white house, of the president and we should also note that later this morning we will see President Biden when he delivers remarks for the ceremony ending the tenure of general mark milley. We will see whether he weighs in on this then, but there is no doubt, sara and kate, that this is personal for a president who also served alongside her in her many moments in her legacy as senator. Priscilla, keep us updated on what you are hearing from the white house and beyond. Lets bring in a member of the California Congressional Delegation now for some reaction on this in this moment. Congressman Mike Thompson joining us. Congressman, thank you for being to kind to jump on so quickly with us. Your reaction and thoughts right now about the senator . Well, its very sad. Senator feinstein was a legend, she was an iconic Public Servant and she earned and held the trust of voters throughout california for many years and thats because she cared, she understood the importance of the institution of Representative Government and she worked tirelessly for the people of our state and for the people of the United States of america. Representative thompson, when you look back at your relationship with her, what stands out to you . What do you remember and what will you remember the most about her . Well, we go back a long way. I walked precincts for her when they tried to recall her when she was the mayor of San Francisco. We traveled in a Campaign Together in 1990. Shes been to my district many times. Ive worked closely with her on a number of issues, gun violence prevention certainly one of those, but to protect the environment. She and i carried legislation together that was signed into law that protected in perpetuity 375,000 acres on californias north coast and she was just wonderful to work with, she was whip smart, she understood both the policy and the politics and she wasnt afraid to roll up her proverbial sleeves and dive into the details to make sure we got things right, right for the american people, right for the people of california. Congressman, what do you think was i cant think of a better way of saying it what do you think was the Special Sauce behind Dianne Feinstein . What made her such an effective politician and Public Servant . I think she cared. She had a Heart And Soul that was completely dedicated to Public Service and she cared about the people who sent her to washington, she worked tirelessly for them and she worked across the aisle. She was someone who understood that the voters send us to congress to get things done and, man, she got a lot of things done. How did she do it . How did she go about wrangling especially in the beginning sort of the men around her because she was criticized just because she was a woman and a first as well. She broke a lot of glass ceilings, thats for sure. I think thats the nature of women in San Francisco politics. Senator feinstein, as i said, she would understand the issue, she knew what the problem was, she knew the best way to solve it, she relied on facts, not hyperbole or fear, and she just did the work and got things done and i think her colleagues appreciated that and i think her voters appreciated that. What does this mean for the California Senate seat now, congressman . Well, its sad that she is gone, tremendously sad that she is gone. I have every confidence that the governor will appoint someone, but theres not going to be another Dianne Feinstein for a long, long time. She was truly remarkable, as i said, a legend, an iconic Public Servant and someone who earned and held the trust of voters across her state. She was there since 1992 and we talked earlier with Phil Mattingly about this Generational Divide that is beginning to happen. Can you give us some sense, because you are in the house, of what that looks like and how this will impact that as Dianne Feinstein is no longer with us, how this will sort of impact the Generational Divide that exists now in both houses . Well, whomever is serving today and whomever follows her will do so on the shoulders of a giant. She has really laid the groundwork to make sure that those of us in Public Service work hard to serve our constituents and to serve our country. Congressman, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your thoughts today. We want to bring in another former member of the congressional delegation, former senator Barbara Boxer joining us on the phone right now. Senator, as soon as we heard the news you were one of the first people i thought of because you and Senator Feinstein, you broke barriers together, first female pair of u. S. Senators to represent any state at the same time. Seeing you together representing california was a real moment. Where is your head and your heart today . Well, my head says i never thought shed leave us because dianne was one of the toughest longest leaders i have ever worked with. Yes, we made history together, the first two women ever elected from any state in the socalled year of the woman, and i say socalled because in 1992 that year we went from two females out of 100 senators to six females and the media was so amazed at that they called it the year of the woman and both dianne and i said, no, we have a long way to go. After we did this then people predicted, oh e theyre going to hate each other, theyre going to fight. There was even some columnist that kept waiting for that to happen and of course we were joined at the hip when it came to representing california and we did have our differences, but we always, always got along and trust in each other. We worked together for 24 years. What an honor it was for me and, yes, she was a One Of A Kind. Senator boxer, would you recall for us some of your most endearing, your favorite moments with her, whether they were you two fighting together against a tide or whether it was a disagreement that you were able to work out. Can you give us some sense of what your memories are that really stand out to you . Well, the first one is the Assault Weapons Ban. What i think everybody at this point knows that Senator Feinstein witnessed a double assassination and she i say she witnessed t but she dealt with it in the aftermath and she was forged with steel after that. She thought about at that time the Assault Weapons situation, and then just strangely when we got elected right in the early years there was a terrible massacre at 101 California Street and the two of us were shaken. This was in San Francisco. As a matter of fact, one of my sons best friends perished in that. She just said, we have got to ban Assault Weapons and will you help me with it . I said, anything. And i think one of my enduring memories is we said we looked at each other and i think i said to her or she said to me, i said, i will take the short ones, you take the tall ones. We were very different in different ways physically, she was very tall, im hardly even 5 feet, and we wouldnt stop. And she wouldnt stop. And then senator biden, now President Biden, said to us, look, im with you, and he said to dianne, you have got to get 60 votes or i cannot do it. And by god she did. It was really amazing. Just amazing. And when we didnt get along there were certain Environmental Issues where we were on different sides, we basically said to each other do no harm. Pretty much we kept to that. Were seeing from one of our colleagues on the hill, senator, that di fi took her last senate vote yesterday morning. I was thinking isnt cha exactly how she would have wanted it. Say it again. Say that again. I missed it. Her final her final vote in the senate was yesterday morning, just yesterday morning. Wow. I think its also just another remarkable note about her remarkable passion for the job. Oh, 100 . And, you know, even in these very dark times for her, she knew she knew that her vote was needed on that committee and when the republicans refuse to promise her that she would be replaced, she just stayed there. Really a remarkable person and i agree, people like that just dont come along. Senator boxer, im curious if you had conversations with her about her biggest worry for this country as she was in this position of power, as she dealt with the senate and members of the house, what her biggest concern was for this country in these last years. Well, really it was the Gun Violence Epidemic and gun violence has now become the number one cause of death among children. You know, here is a woman who was forced into politics by gun violence and was able to lead and then, sadly, the Assault Weapons Ban expired in ten years and so we never did it again, couldnt get it done. She never stopped trying. But i have to say that was a huge passion. I also think equal rights for women. When we came in it was on the heels of anita hill and we both felt very strongly that protecting a womans rights and her right to choose and be respected for her decisions, all of that, you know, really was was important. But, you know, you have to be a generalist in this job and she worked hard on Wilderness Protection in our beautiful state. So, you know but i think for her id have to say the gun issue was a motivational force for her. What were your conversations with her around retirement . Even when you when you made your decision to retire. And the conversation after both of you had such long, amazing careers, about what legacy means to you. Well, im laughing here because when i told her i had decided not to run again in 2016, and i left the senate in 2017, she was really mad at me. She said, why would you do this . You are at the top of your game. And i said, dianne, were different on that. You know, i just feel it in my bones its time for me to step aside. Im not going to retire, im going to have a busy, productive she was not happy. She was mad if i can be honest and i think to her and she has told me this. We talked and she had decided to run the last time we chatted about it she talked to me, she said, will you help me get reelected . I said, of course. This was after i had left. She basically said, a lot of people are telling me not to do this, but, you know, this job is a calling to me, she said to me. This job is a calling. And thats how she viewed it. And thats how she ran her life, her campaign, her work. Senator Barbara Boxer, thank you so much for sharing all of those intimate details about your relationship there with Senator Feinstein and her thoughts on her life and her achievements. We appreciate your time. So good to hear from her. Were seeing so many people, right, come out, as you would, i mean, because of her position, but the one word that is used i think over and over and over again is trailblazer. Yeah. And, you know, often terminology can be, you know, overused sometimes, but in her Case Trailblazer is by definition accurate and One Of A Kind and, i mean, Mike Thompson said she is a legend. Dianne feinstein has passed away at the age of 90 years old. You mentioned her last work in congress was trying to help get the bill passed so that we didnt have a shutdown. We are just hours away from that Government Shutdown and we are minutes away from hearing House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy. Whats his message as the clock is ticking and running out . We will bring it all to you. Right now, House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is trying to figure out what now . His lastditch effort at the Moment Centers around pushing for a vote on a shortterm Spending Bill this morning, but he does not have ta votes for it. The dynamics at play really have not changed overnight. Nothing he has tried has worked and hardliners are not willing to negotiate, so we have moved from days to hours for the Government Shutdown. The funding bill is still a work in progress with no real hopes of passing in the senate either. So all signs are pointing to the shutdown affecting millions, 2. 2 million federal, and 1. 3 million of the members of military and the federal workers some forced off of the job or forced to work without pay. You may see the Airport Delays or transportation projects put on hold and Food Assistant Programs going to the halt. We have it all covered this morning, and cnns lauren fox is joining us on capitol hill, and cnns alvarez is tracking the latest. What do you have, lauren . Yes, they are going to try a last gamble to pass a shortterm bill, but it is not going to have enough votes, and it should hit the floor at 11 30 this morning. It is the most conservative package that leadership could put together, and it is Strong Border provision, and changes to the border policy that the administration has deployed at the border, and steep Spending Cuts and Like Department of defense and department of Homeland Security and department of Veterans Affairs are held at todays spending levels, it is 30 cuts to other agencies which is something that the hardliners have been asking the speaker for, and yet, this bill faces long odds of passing in the house, and it has virtually no chance of passing out of the senate. Right now in the senate, they are working on a bipartisan basis to pass their bill, but they have a conservative hardliner in rand paul who is still walking process meaning that the senate may not get their bill passed either before the government shuts down. Right now, there is no path forward clearly visible to any of us covering it over the last several week, sara, and it is going to tell you that for americans waking up monday morning, it is very likely they will be facing a federal Government Shutdown. All right. Stick with us, lauren. Over to Priscilla Alvarez on the white house perspective on this. Priscilla, the latest from there, and we have heard the calls from Kevin Mccarthy that President Biden get engaged, that he start getting involved in the process to try to negotiate something that seemed more of a deflection more than anything else, but what are you hearing from there this morning . And the president s response to that would be that the two had reached a deal earlier in the year, and now that this is totally avoidable from what he said in arizona, but the white house officials are saying that the onus is on the republicans for them to avoid any type of Government Shutdown, and over the course of the last several days, they have been releasing a series of Press Releases highlighting the impact of this on federal workers and for americans, and that is including for example at least starting today with the small businesses, and the business administration, and start processing new Business Loans in the event of a Government Shutdown and long delays andy sas and Disaster Relief funds as their coffers empty out, and the risk of million of women and children not receiving food assistance, and of course, millions of federal worker not receiving pay. Now, there are functions of the government that will continue. For example, border enforcement, and the Border Patrol agents will have to continue to enforce the border, but they wont be paid for it, and all of this is what the administration has been highlighting, and federal agencies are embracing, and yesterday, they started to tell the employees to brace for the shutdown and telling them that they may be temporarily furloughed. At the white house for a glimpse of what this is looking like. Senior aides are having to learn some of what the junior aides do, because the junior aides may be furloughed, so it is a sense of the logistical challenges here as well as the real impact for americans across the country. Priscilla, thank you so much. Back to lauren fox back to capitol hill, and we will hear from the speaker in a few minutes now, and what does he say when it is the republicans bickering between each other who have failed to get anything passed through the house . The speaker is trying to create unity between the conference and unity that has been missing in action for the last several weeks, but the argument is trying to pressure some of the conservative hardliners if they dont rally around the shortterm Spending Bill, the conservative package that i laid out, you are basically voting with biden administration, and that is going to be the argument, because he is trying to say that their bill includes Strong Border Strong Security provisions that the house has passed and provisions that the conservatives have been fighting for, and if you dont vote for the shortterm Spending Bill, you dont want border security, and this is where the Pressure Point is for the speaker right now, and so far, the argument that he is making publicly and privately, it is not moving the needle. We at cnn have been counting eight hardliners who say they will not be voting for the short term Spending Bill no way, no how, no matter what is in it. So it appears that Kevin Mccarthys call for unity is not resonating for some hardliners who want to force the speaker into a shutdown and force him into the issue of whether or not he can lead the conference. Lauren standby. Stick with us, please, because a lot of moving parts on this morning, and the House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is set to speak, and set to speak with reporters. Any minute now, and we will have to see what the State Of Play is and if anything has changed and the dynamic, and a live look in the room while we are waiting for the Press Conference and manu raju has the hill covered as we are ticking down to a Government Shutdown. We will be right back. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. This is cnn breaking news. We are following a lot of news this hour. A lot of moving parts to keep track of. Minutes from now, we will hear from speaker of the house Kevin Mccarthy who is going to be speaking to reporters on the eve of this Government Shutdown. What is his plan to avoid that. Standby for updates there. Also this hour, we may hear from President Biden honoring outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and a huge day here. General mark mille