Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Will Newsom Have Another U.S. Senate Seat to Fill?
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 3 years ago on
December 14, 2020

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom already faces the complicated chore of filling several high-profile political positions.

He’ll have a U.S. Senate seat to fill after Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president.

He’ll also name a new state attorney general if Xavier Becerra wins Senate confirmation as President-elect Joe Biden’s health and human services secretary.

Dan Walters

Opinion

Thirdly, if he elevates California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to the Senate as Harris’ successor, as widely expected, he’ll appoint someone to fill out Padilla’s term.

Newsom has publicly commiserated with himself about dealing with all of the ambitious politicians seeking promotions into high office.

And then, last week, New Yorker magazine published a lengthy article describing Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s “cognitive decline” and waning political clout, which raises the possibility that she will not finish out the remaining four years of her current term and give Newsom another big office to fill.

Feinstein, first elected to the Senate in 1992, clearly was averse to running for a fifth full term in 2018. However, she was urged to do so by Democratic Party leaders, worried that were Feinstein to retire, it would touch off a fierce and expensive scramble among Democrats that would divert resources they wanted for Senate races in other states.

New Yorker magazine published a lengthy article  last week describing Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s “cognitive decline” and waning political clout, which raises the possibility that she will not finish out the remaining four years of her current term and give Newsom another big office to fill. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Anger From the Left Boiled up Again When Feinstein Failed

Feinstein reluctantly ran, which angered Democratic activists who had long criticized her centrist, collegial approach. Kevin de León, a former president pro tem of the state Senate, challenged her and won the state Democratic Party’s official endorsement, but lost to Feinstein in a runoff.

Anger from the left boiled up again when Feinstein failed, in her critics’ eyes, to vigorously oppose Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court during Judiciary Committee hearings. Most galling to those on the left is that she hugged and publicly praised the Republican Judiciary chairman, Lindsey Graham, afterwards.

The outcry was so severe that Feinstein gave up her seat on Judiciary, one of the Senate’s most powerful positions.

The New Yorker article advanced the narrative of Feinstein’s fading political potency.

It cited one public indication of “cognitive decline” in the 87-year-old senator: a hearing in November when she asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey a question and then moments later asked exactly the same question.

Other examples in the article were what journalists call “blind quotes” from those who didn’t want to reveal their identities. The New Yorker quoted those saying Feinstein was still sharper than other aged senators.

Newsom’s Management of the Game of Musical Offices

“But many others familiar with Feinstein’s situation,” it said, “describe her as seriously struggling, and say it has been evident for several years. Speaking on background, and with respect for her accomplished career, they say her short-term memory has grown so poor that she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have. They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said and getting upset when she can’t keep up.”

New Yorker reported that Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, assigned someone to keep an eye on Feinstein during the Barrett hearings. Afterwards, he publicly but softly criticized her, and had several private meetings, culminating in her exit from the Judiciary Committee.

If, indeed, Feinstein is failing as much as the New Yorker article portrays, it’s difficult to see her hanging on until her term is up in 2024. The potential of a resignation plays into Newsom’s management of the game of musical offices. Someone passed over this year might be considered for Feinstein’s seat and Newsom might even place himself on that contingency list.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

DON'T MISS

CA’s Liberal Government Has a Long History of Caving to Special Interests

DON'T MISS

Newsom, Legislators Opt for Gimmicks and Wishful Thinking to Close California’s Budget Deficit

DON'T MISS

Courage to Embrace Change: El Rio Reyes Conservation Trust Boldly Rebrands as Kings River Land Trust

DON'T MISS

Committed to Politics or Committed to Fresno’s Children?

DON'T MISS

Repealing Prop. 47 is a Misguided Battle Cry. It Won’t Make California Safer.

DON'T MISS

Misty Her Might Be Best Superintendent Candidate. But Fresno Unified Still Needs a Statewide Search.

DON'T MISS

How California’s Prized Solution for Methane Gas Is Backfiring on Farmers

DON'T MISS

Many Californians Rely on This Farmers Market Program. Newsom Wants to Cut It

DON'T MISS

Carbon Capture Storage Is Key to California’s Economy & Energy Future

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

6 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

6 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

6 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

6 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

6 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

7 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

7 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

8 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

10 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

4 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
4 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

5 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

5 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

6 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

6 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

6 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

6 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

6 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend