Hot mic catches confused Feinstein being told to vote 'aye' as she tries to read speech

A hot mic caught another senator telling Sen. Diane Feinstein, 90, to vote "aye" during a roll call vote on Thursday when she instead started to read a prepared speech.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) told Feinstein twice to "vote aye" during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee vote on the defense appropriation bill.

First, Feinstein froze up when it was her turn to vote. When Murray told her to vote aye, she then started reading her remarks. "I would like to support a ‘yes’ vote on this," Feinstein said. "It provides $823 billion — that's an increase of $26 billion for the Department of Defense, and it funds priorities submitted—"

At that point, a staff member cut her off and said they were only doing a roll call vote.

Murray told her a second time to "Just say, 'Aye,'" she thought about it for a minute and finally seemed to realize what was happening.

She finally voted "aye," but the interchange underscores what a big problem it's becoming to keep these politicians in office just to keep the seat Democratic or Republican, even when they no longer have most of their faculties.