For years, Dianne Feinstein, the oldest sitting U.S. Senator, has been dogged by questions and rumors about her fitness to do the job. But on Wednesday, two lawmakers from her own party took the extraordinary step of calling for the 89-year-old’s resignation, bringing what many say privately into the open for one simple reason: federal judges. Feinstein sits on the Judiciary Committee, and in a divided government where Democrats control the Senate by just two votes, judicial appointments are one of the only avenues through which the party can exert its power.