A new senator for California

Oct 02, 2023

EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler attends EMILYs List's 2023 Pre-Oscars Breakfast at The Beverly Hilton on March 7, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.

EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler is a veteran organizer and well-known in Newsom’s orbit. | Araya Doheny/Getty Images

DRIVING THE DAY: Less than 72 hours after news of Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death broke, California is poised to have a new, trail-blazing U.S. Senator.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to temporarily fill the late senator’s seat, as our colleague Chris Cadelago scooped Sunday night. She is expected to be sworn-in to the Senate on Wednesday by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Butler, who is a lesbian, will make history as the first out LGBTQ person of color to serve in the U.S. Senate. She’s also the first LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate.

She’s a familiar player in California politics. Prior to leading EMILY’s List — the national fundraising juggernaut for Democratic women candidates — Butler was a regent for the University of California, director for public policy and campaigns at Airbnb and president of the California SEIU State Council.

The choice allows Newsom to stand by his commitments to do two things: appoint a Black woman and someone who’s not already running for the Senate seat. More on that below.

Butler’s swift appointment comes after a whirlwind three days following the sudden death of a towering figure in California politics.

Feinstein returned to California from Washington one last time over the weekend, accompanied by friend and colleague Rep. Nancy Pelosi. On Wednesday, the late senator will lie in state in San Francisco City Hall, where her political career began amid political violence and upheaval in 1978.

Members of the public are invited to pay their respects from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to a woman who was an undisputed champion of both San Francisco and California.

Behind the scenes, the jockeying over her replacement in the Senate was fierce and swift. It placed Newsom, a longtime friend and admirer of Feinstein, in one of the most difficult positions of his political career.

Within minutes of the news breaking Friday, a Newsom confidante was contacted by someone making a pitch for a potential appointment, as Cadelago also reported. Newsom’s Chief of Staff Dana Williamson took to Twitter to lament the “vulchers (sic)” who had circled in the wake of Feinstein’s death.

The governor had painted himself into a difficult corner. He vowed in 2021 to appoint a Black woman if a Senate vacancy appeared, but later expressed hesitancy to meddle in the race between Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, a Black woman.

That didn’t appease members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who implored Newsom to name Lee to the seat.

Naming Butler to the seat likely allows Newsom to avoid angering a key constituency. It’s also a relief for Senate Democrats, who need every vote in the closely divided chamber.

Whether Butler will run to keep the seat in 2024 was an open question Sunday night.

An adviser to the governor, Anthony York, told POLITICO that Newsom is making his appointment without putting limitations or preconditions on his pick running for the seat in 2024. That means Butler could decide to join the competitive field of contenders.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the California GOP Fall convention on September 29, 2023 in Anaheim, California. | Getty Images

THE BUZZ — Speaker Kevin McCarthy spent the weekend clinging to control in the House, but back in California, his fellow Republicans couldn’t have cared less about the drama roiling Washington.

The California Republican Party’s fall convention in Anaheim was instead marked by zeal around protecting conservative priorities and snuffing out critical race theory and gender ideology in California schools.

And, of course, a rare appearance from Donald Trump.

After skipping out on the second GOP debate in nearby Simi Valley earlier in the week, Trump stopped by the Anaheim Marriott on Friday to deliver luncheon remarks to 1,500 fervid supporters.

The former president spent two hours spinning jokes and jabs, going well over his allotted time while taking swipes at top California Democrats and vowing swift and harsh justice for everyone from retail thieves to progressive district attorneys.

The reception for other presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and Vivek Ramaswamy, paled in comparison to Trump, who maintains a 40-point lead in the primary race.

“Trump is not a candidate,” said congressional candidate Mike Cargile. “He’s a movement.”

Members also rejected an effort to moderate their platform. A proposal to streamline the party’s guiding document and remove opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage was swiftly defeated by grassroots conservatives. That frustrated centrists who said the party’s hardline views make it difficult to be competitive in blue districts.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.

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WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

FRESH INK

SAG-AFTRA actors walk on a picket line outside Netflix studios in Los Angeles, Calif.

SAG-AFTRA actors walk on a picket line outside Netflix studios on Sep. 26, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif. | Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

NOT-SO-HOT LABOR FALL — Unions had a stellar year pushing labor-friendly bills through the Legislature. But their measures aren’t faring as well on Newsom’s desk — and union leaders are fuming.

The Democratic governor riled unions with a pair of vetoes over the weekend. He killed Senate Bill 799, Sen. Anthony Portantino’s bill that would have provided unemployment benefits to striking workers. Newsom in his veto message cited concerns about a deficit in the state unemployment insurance fund. He also vetoed SB 686, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo’s measure to extend OSHA workplace health and safety protections to domestic workers, including nannies, house cleaners, caregivers and day laborers. Newsom said he was concerned the bill aimed to regulate private households like businesses.

His veto of SB 799 was a particularly stinging blow for labor. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, the California Labor Federation chief, scolded Newsom late Saturday night, calling his move “out-of-step with American values” at a time when public support for unions and striking workers is high. Newsom also recently vetoed the Teamsters-backed proposal to require human safety drivers on autonomous trucks. He did, however, sign a measure to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers.

PORTER’S ABSENCE — Rep. Katie Porter was absent for a crucial vote over the weekend, when Congress passed a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown. Porter, who’s running for Feinstein’s former seat, was the only Senate contender who missed the vote. Spokesperson Nathan Click said Porter had to return to California for a family commitment.

THURMONEY — State schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond raised more than $200,000 in the two days after he announced he’s running for governor, according to his campaign. He’s been meeting with labor and business representatives since the launch in an attempt to build a “broad coalition of donors,” he told POLITICO. “I also believe that ours will be a grassroots campaign,” the Democrat said, detailing plans to hold town halls and knock on the doors of “voters who don't always get included” in canvassing operations.

Cash will be important as he challenges Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a well-connected fundraiser who has collected more than $2.6 million and has $2.2 million in cash in her campaign account. She was the first to announce her candidacy in April.

— Blake Jones

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

COSTS & BENEFITS: A proposal from PG&E to reduce wildfire risk by burying about 2,000 miles of power lines by 2026 faces concerns over the cost to ratepayers from regulators who favor scaled back versions of the plan. (The Wall Street Journal)

CATALINA WILDLIFE: The nonprofit conservancy that manages Santa Catalina Island has an usual plan to get rid of invasive mule deer roaming the island: helicopter-mounted snipers. The proposed hunt has sparked protests. (Los Angeles Times)

Playbookers

BIRTHDAYS — Emerson Eichler ... (was Sunday): Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) … Catherine Dennig … (was Saturday): Nate Tibbits of Qualcomm … POLITICO’s Josh Sisco … Adam Aron ... Fran Drescher … Palantir co-founder Stephen Cohen

WEDDING WATCH — San Francisco Chronicle City Hall reporter J.D. Morris married André Louis, a nurse in interventional radiology at UCSF. The couple exchanged vows Saturday, during a ceremony under the rotunda at SF City Hall.

Carlos Paz Jr. and Abigail Diaz, via NYT: “Mr. Paz [is] the chief of staff for Representative Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat from California … She is currently a customer adviser at Amazon Business. … They married Sept. 1 at the Live Oak Friends Meeting House in Houston.”

Olivia Webb, editorial lead at a16z Bio + Health, recently married Marshall Kosloff, host of "The Realignment" podcast at the Foundation for American Innovation, a media fellow at Hudson Institute and a fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at UT Austin. Pic ... Another pic

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