Dianne Feinstein returning to Senate

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Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on her way back to Washington, D.C., after a lengthy absence from the Senate due to health issues that prompted members of her own party to call for her resignation.

Feinstein departed San Francisco and is expected to arrive in Washington as early as Tuesday evening, her spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.

"I'm glad that my friend Dianne is back in the Senate and ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "After talking with her multiple times over the past few weeks, it's clear she's back where she wants to be and ready to deliver for California."

Her return comes as Congress faces a fast-approaching deadline to reach a deal on increasing the debt limit. Her absence left Democrats with a narrow 50-49 margin in the upper chamber.

The California Democrat had not cast a vote since mid-February. She had been hospitalized in California for shingles and then spent weeks recovering at home.

Some Democrats called on her to resign, suggesting her prolonged leave was hindering Democrats' ability to move legislation and judicial nominees. But Feinstein dismissed claims that her absence impacted the confirmation of nominees.

"The Senate continues to swiftly confirm highly qualified individuals to the federal judiciary, including seven more judicial nominees who were confirmed this week," Feinstein said in a statement last week. "There has been no slowdown."

"I'm confident that when I return to the Senate, we will be able to move the remaining qualified nominees out of committee quickly and to the Senate floor for a vote," the statement said.

In April, Feinstein requested that she temporarily be replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the move was blocked by Republicans.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., experienced more complications than were publicly disclosed from a recent case of shingles that left her absent from Washington for nearly three months.

Feinstein, 89, had also suffered from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which occurred when shingles spread to her head and neck, and a case of encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain, a person familiar with her situation confirmed to NBC News on Thursday.

Her previously undisclosed complications were first reported by The New York Times.

Feinstein, when she made brief appearances in the Capitol this week, appeared to have facial paralysis on the left side of her face, a side effect of Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

One of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's daughters, Nancy Corrine Prowda, has been helping Feinstein navigate the halls of Congress as she recovers from shingles — stoking speculation by Washington insiders about political motives of keeping Feinstein from retiring from the Senate.

"Nancy Corrine is a dear friend of Senator Feinstein’s going back more than 40 years," a spokesperson for Feinstein told NBC News. "She has been spending time with the senator as she continues to recover from shingles."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appeared confused during a vote on a defense appropriations bill Thursday, which prompted a fellow Democratic senator to step in.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee markup of bills Thursday morning, Feinstein seemed to stumble on a vote. Instead of saying the expected response of “aye” or “nay,” Feinstein began delivering a speech expressing her support of the measure: “I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this. It provides $823 billion...”

About 15 seconds into Feinstein’s speech, an aide whispered in her ear. Committee chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., then told Feinstein: “Just say aye.”

“Aye,” Feinstein said.

Feinstein, 90, was later heard voting against another measure, before being corrected and switching to “yes.”

A Feinstein spokesperson said that Thursday's markup "was a little chaotic" as members work to wrap up government funding bills before leaving for a six-week break, with senators "constantly switching back and forth between statements, votes, and debate and the order of bills."

"The senator was preoccupied, didn’t realize debate had just ended and a vote was called," the spokesperson continued. "She started to give a statement, was informed it was a vote and then cast her vote."