Newsom Selects Replacement For Feinstein

(RepublicanReport.org) – On September 29, Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) office announced the passing of the California lawmaker at her Washington, DC, home the previous night. She served in the Senate for nearly 32 years, the longest term in that esteemed chamber for a woman. Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) recently named her replacement in what many considered an attempt at virtue signaling.

On October 1, POLITICO broke the news that the California governor named EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler as Feinstein’s replacement. Butler is a long-time associate of Newsom as well as a veteran political organizer. He didn’t place any conditions on her appointment, meaning he intentionally left the door open for her to campaign to keep Feinstein’s seat beyond January 2024.

The announcement came as a surprise to many Democrats who had expected Newsom to pick a current lawmaker like Representative Katie Porter (D-CA) or Adam Schiff (D-CA). Feinstein recently announced her intention to retire at the end of her current term in January 2024. Both Porter and Schiff quickly launched their respective campaigns for her seat.

However, shortly after Feinstein’s death, Newsom announced he would select a black female to serve the remainder of the iconic senator’s term, turning more than a few heads at the thought of either representative even being considered as an interim replacement.

The response to Newsom’s decision to narrow the replacement along racial and gender lines prompted a quick rebuke from some lawmakers. For instance, Rep. Barbara Lee, one of California’s most prominent black Democrats, posted a scorching statement on her X, formerly Twitter, account in September, shortly after Newsom initially talked about replacing Feinstein with a “caretaker” black woman.

I am troubled by the Governor’s remarks. The idea that a Black woman should be appointed only as a caretaker to simply check a box is insulting to countless Black women across this country who have carried the Democratic Party to victory election after election. https://t.co/Q5Q3jznuFd

— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLeeForCA) September 11, 2023

Lee wrote that she was troubled at the idea of Newsom appointing a black woman “to simply check a box,” calling it “insulting to countless black women” nationwide who helped carry Democrats to victory at the polling stations “election after election.”