On the #Judiciary Cmte, which she joined during her 1st #Senate term, #Feinstein became known as an independent-minded vote.

During the #Bush admin, she opposed the noms of #SCOTUS justices #JohnRoberts & #SamuelAlito, several candidates for #FederalBench, & AG #AlbertoGonzales. But sided w/ #Republicans on noms incl’g… #MichaelMukasey —despite his refusal to describe #waterboarding as #torture —& fed appeals court judge #LeslieSouthwick, whose nom was opposed by #CivilRights & #GayRights grps.