Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a key decision on the future of the seat held by the state's longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate.
The Democratic California governor appears poised to make an interim appointment following the death of trailblazing Sen. Dianne Feinstein at age 90. The appointment would mark Newsom's second to the Senate since Kamala Harris became vice president.
Newsom vowed in a 'Meet the Press' interview in early September that he would not appoint any of the three high-profile Democrats who have already announced their intention to run for the Senate seat. They are Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter.
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Instead, Newsom said, he planned to make an interim appointment, essentially a caretaker until voters decide in the next election cycle.
"Yes. Interim appointment. I don’t want to get involved in the primary,” Newsom told NBC News' Chuck Todd in an 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."
At the time of the interview, Feinstein had announced her intentions to serve out the remainder of her Senate term, set to end in January 2025. Newsom expressed reluctance at the prospect on another political appointment after having already picked Alex Padilla to fill the Senate seat vacated by Harris.
Padilla served out the remainder of his term, then won the seat in the November election.
“I don’t want to make another appointment, and I don’t think the people of California want me to make another appointment,” Newsom told Todd earlier this month.
Newsom released a statement Friday morning following news of the 90-year-old Feinstein's death.
"Dianne Feinstein was many things – a powerful, trailblazing U.S. Senator; an early voice for gun control; a leader in times of tragedy and chaos," Newsom said. "But to me, she was a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me, but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like.
“She was a political giant, whose tenacity was matched by her grace. She broke down barriers and glass ceilings, but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation. And she was a fighter — for the city, the state and the country she loved. Every race she won, she made history, but her story wasn’t just about being the first woman in a particular political office, it was what she did for California, and for America, with that power once she earned it. That’s what she should be remembered for.
“There is simply nobody who possessed the strength, gravitas, and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein. Jennifer and I are deeply saddened by her passing, and we will mourn with her family in this difficult time.”
The statement did not address the future of the Senate seat.
The candidates are geared toward the March 5 all-party primary in California. The top two vote-getters of any party advance from the primary to the general election, meaning two of the three Democrats could end up squaring off in the general election.
Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992. She was the longest-serving female senator and oldest sitting U.S. senator.
