California Gov. Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein's Senate seat | CNN Politics
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY’s List, to fill the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, his office confirmed Sunday evening.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY’s List, to fill the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, his office confirmed Sunday evening.

Butler will become the sole Black female senator serving in Congress and only the third in US history. Feinstein, the longest-serving female US senator in history, died last week at 90.

The selection of Butler, first reported by Politico, comes as Democrats hold a narrow Senate majority and uncertainty looms over New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s political future amid outcry from his Democratic colleagues over his federal indictment.

Butler has been the president of EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, since the group’s board of directors appointed her in 2021, when she became the first woman of color to lead the organization. She previously worked at Airbnb as a director of public policy and campaigns and advised Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, but much of her background is in the labor movement, serving as a union president in California.

  • HuddaBudda@kbin.social
    306·
    1 year ago

    She doesn’t seem too bad, she has a history of helping union workers in nursing and janitorial duties. So she had a good history for organized labor

    However…

    Butler joined SCRB Strategies as a partner in 2018. At SCRB, she played a central role in Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign. Butler also advised Uber in its dealings with organized labor while at SCRB.

    Butler left SCRB in 2020 to join Airbnb as director of public policy and campaigns in North America

    SCRB Strategies seems to be a “for profit” political consultation group. Airbnb needs no introductions.

    It’s hard to say whether she took the money or not. While some organizations declare her net worth around $300,000, others report it around $16 million.

    Laphonza Butler owns more than 7 real estate properties, valued at over $3 million in total. These properties bring in nearly $500,000 annually in rental income. She also invests in stocks and government bonds worth $2.5 million. Her investments include big names like Tesla, Microsoft, ExxonMobil, Google, Walmart, Universal Studios, and Bank of America.

    TLDR: So at least from what I can see in her past.

    She is going to be big oil on issues, she is going to also have a lot of personal incentive to keep rental prices high, and she has a bit of a history defending labor. What that means going forward is going to be hazy.

    • Asafum
      172·
      1 year ago

      Progress I guess… we got rid of the “old and white” in “old rich white” for our “representatives.” I doubt we’ll ever get rid of the “rich” part as that’s the most important one… :/

    • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.spaceEnglish
      52·
      1 year ago

      You were expecting Rosa Luxemburg perhaps?

      Butler seems about as left-wing as one could expect in the current Democratic party machine; she’ll be an improvement on Feinstein. I was expecting the DCCC to push some corporate stooge from the Clintonian right of the party, and, while she’s not perfect, I’m pleasantly surprised.