Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing blowback after he said on Sunday that he might appoint an interim replacement for long-serving Sen. Dianne Feinstein if she is unable to complete her final term.
Feinstein’s health has been ailing, and she has announced she will not seek six more years in the Senate.
With questions mounting about whether she can make it another 16 months, Newsom told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday he would not appoint a permanent replacement.
Probed about the issue, Newsom told Chuck Todd that a senator would be appointed on an interim basis while the current primary to replace Feinstein plays out.
“Yes. Interim appointment,” the governor said. “I don’t want to get involved in the primary.”
Newsom concluded on the matter, ”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.”
Currently, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter are running, as is Rep. Barbara Lee.
Newsom has committed to appointing a black woman to fill a vacancy.
Lee, who is black, lashed out at his statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday evening while she shared a Politico article that referred to such an interim appointment as a “caretaker.”
On the fact that she would not be appointed, Lee complained, “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.”
In a series of subsequent tweets, Lee stated, “Black women deserve more than a participation trophy.”
A poll released last week by The Los Angeles Times found that Schiff and Porter are in a competitive race for the top with 20 percent and 17 percent support, respectively.
Only seven percent of likely Democratic primary voters told the Times they supported Lee.
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