California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be tasked with appointing a replacement for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein which will mean the governor has handpicked all of the most powerful positions in the Golden State.
Sen. Feinstein died at the age of 90 on Friday meaning that Newsom will appoint someone to fill out the rest of her term after he appointed then Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2021.
In addition to appointing California’s two senators, Newsom nominated Padilla’s replacement as secretary of state, Shirley Weber, as well as the state’s attorney general. Newsom nominated Alameda Assembly member Rob Bonta as attorney general in 2021 to replace Xavier Becerra who moved to the Biden administration to serve as HHS Secretary.
Earlier this year, Newsom committed to appointing a Black woman to the U.S. Senate if Feinstein were to pass away. But he recently said that if he needed to name a Senate replacement, he would appoint a caretaker.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Tayfun Coskun)
“Yes. Interim appointment. I don’t want to get involved in the primary,” Newsom said earlier this month in an NBC News interview.
“It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don’t want to tip the balance of that.”
The Fresno County, California sheriff and District Attorney slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., for signing new gun control measures this week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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“I hope Gavin Newsom chooses a Senator based on performance, not politics. He’s not off to a good start with his promise to exclude a huge number of qualified candidates based on nothing more than their race and gender,” James Gallagher, California Assembly Republican Leader, told Fox News Digital.
“Whoever he chooses must be laser focused on addressing the crises of inflation, homelessness and crime, not chasing the national spotlight or picking divisive political fights.”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report