Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein argued that her absence from the Senate hasn't harmed her party.
- The California Democrat also conceded that Republicans have used it to block some judges.
- Feinstein vowed to return to Congress but she did not say when that would occur.
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has been absent from the Senate at a critical juncture for the government, released a defiant statement on Thursday arguing that her Senate colleagues have not in fact been hamstrung by her absence from the chamber, while conceding that Republicans have leveraged it to some effect.