“I meet regularly with leaders,” a shocked Feinstein (D-Calif.) told San Francisco Chronicle editorial board leaders on Thursday, 

“I’m not isolated. I see people. My attendance is good. I put in the hours. We represent a huge state. And so I’m rather puzzled by all of this.”

According to the Chronicle’s report, a Democratic senator from the state said that her mental state is “bad, and it’s getting worse.” 

The report also claimed that a member of California’s congressional delegation who has known Feinstein for 15 years recently had to repeatedly reintroduce themselves during an hours-long discussion. 

In total, the report cited four of Feinstein’s Senate colleagues, three former staffers and a House member who expressed concern that the elderly senator’s memory has slipped significantly, 

“No, that conversation has not happened,” Feinstein said. “The real conversation is whether I’m an effective representative for 40 million people.”

Feinstein, who was first elected to her senate seat 30 years ago in 1992, has been a prominent force in Washington.  

She chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee for six years and served as a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Trump administration.