California democratic candidate for governor, Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom, takes a selfie picture with Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU local 2015, before speaking at Greater Zion Church in Compton, CA, with Pastor Michael Fisher, June 03, 2018. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Laphonza Butler, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pick to be appointed to the seat of late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is scheduled to be sworn in at noon Pacific time Tuesday on the Senate floor by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The historic appointment of Butler, who will become the Senate’s only Black woman and just the third to serve as one of the chamber’s 100 members, will be broadcast on C-SPAN, the Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network, and livestreamed on the Senate’s floor webcast.
Newsom on Sunday announced his selection of Butler, president of EMILY’s List, an organization that helps elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, to fill the seat of Feinstein, 90, who had become an icon in Democratic politics and served more than three decades before she died during her final term last week.
Butler, a longtime labor leader, will be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent California in the Senate, Newsom’s office said. She will also be the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress in American history and the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate following Harris.
Originally published at John Woolfolk