ANAHEIM, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed late Sunday that he plans to appoint Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died last week at age 90.
The interim appointment will extend until at least November 2024. Feinstein had planned to step down at the end of her term, in January 2025. Three of California’s top Democrats — Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff — are in a contentious three-way primary contest for that seat, in what is likely to be the most expensive congressional contest in the nation next year. The appointment helps Democrats hold onto their narrow margin of control of the Senate.
With the appointment, Newsom, a Democrat who is widely viewed as a future White House contender, fulfilled the promise that he made in 2021 to appoint a Black woman to the chamber.
He made that vow shortly after appointing Alex Padilla to fill the seat of Kamala D. Harris as she headed to the White House to serve as Joe Biden’s vice president. Padilla became the first Latino senator to represent California, but Harris’s departure meant there were no longer any Black women serving in the U.S. Senate. Butler will be the only Black woman currently serving in the Senate.
As Feinstein’s health declined in recent years and questions swirled about whether she would leave before her term ended, Newsom considered some of the highest-ranking Black politicians in California as potential replacements.
Those under consideration included Lee, who has served in the House since 1998 and is the highest-ranking African American woman appointed to House Democratic leadership; Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a former congresswoman and former speaker of the California State Assembly; and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, whom Newsom appointed to replace Padilla in 2021.
Newsom’s selection became increasingly complex after Feinstein announced in February that she would not seek reelection — accelerating the fierce battle to replace her.
Though Lee initially would have been a natural choice for the appointment, Newsom indicated to allies that he did not want to unfairly tip the balance in an ongoing race among three Democrats. He publicly confirmed that thinking during a recent NBC interview in which he said he would not choose anyone who is currently running for Feinstein’s seat.
Newsom’s comments on NBC were interpreted by Lee’s allies as an assertion that he planned to ask his appointee to serve in a caretaking role. But sources familiar with his thinking said he has not set any of those kinds of preconditions in his conversations with potential appointees.
Still, his comment that he would make an “interim appointment” angered some allies on the left who had urged him to appoint a Black woman to the Senate and felt there should not be any implied constraints over that person’s ability to seek a full Senate term. Schiff, a White man, is widely viewed as the front-runner in the race to become California’s next senator because he is far ahead of his rivals in fundraising and endorsements.
The pressure continued to mount on Newsom over the weekend to choose Lee, even though that move would upset many powerful allies of Schiff. They include influential California Democratic donors to Schiff who would be helpful to Newsom’s future White House aspirations, and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is Schiff’s most prominent backer in the ongoing Senate race.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) sent a letter to Newsom on Sunday urging him to choose Lee for the role, stating that “her unparalleled legislative record, long-standing leadership in the Democratic Party and deep commitment to justice and equality cannot be equaled.”
Powerful liberal leaders, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), also weighed in on the appointment by voicing their support for Lee not long after Feinstein’s death was announced early Friday morning.
“Nobody deserves an appointment to the Senate more than @BarbaraLeeForCA,” Jayapal said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“She has inspired millions & done the work. Why is it that when a Black woman seeks appointment, she can only be a caretaker? This was not the standard for Newsom’s last appointment,” Jayapal wrote, alluding to his appointment of Padilla to the Senate in 2020, “and it shouldn’t be now.”
Newsom’s choices also narrowed because a number of potential candidates who are also close allies of Lee indicated they would not accept the appointment if she was passed over. Lee has strong relationships with Bass, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who all hold powerful positions that they are committed to keeping.
