Harris congratulated Butler several times after the newly minted senator for California pledged to “well and faithfully discharge” the duties of her office and the two shook hands. The senators who were in the chamber applauded and gave Butler a standing ovation. On her way out, Butler walked over to shake hands with Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader.
In brief comments to reporters outside the Senate chamber, Harris spoke with reverence about Feinstein’s legacy of service and noted that Butler is someone whom she has known and worked with for a long time. “I’m sure she will do an excellent job in filling the seat for the time being,” Harris said.
Butler told The Washington Post in a statement: “This has been a day I did not expect and will never forget. I’m humbled to have the privilege and responsibility of serving the people of California as their Senator.”
President Biden called Butler to congratulate her, the White House said Tuesday.
Butler’s swearing-in ends a long and politically difficult chapter for Newsom, who was facing a complex task in appeasing many sectors of the Democratic Party with the choice at a time when he is weighing a future run for the White House. There is already a fierce three-way race underway for Feinstein’s seat for a term that will begin in January 2025, when she had planned to retire. Newsom promised in 2021 to appoint a Black woman to the seat if Feinstein retired earlier. He made that vow shortly after he appointed Alex Padilla, who was then California’s secretary of state, to replace Harris when she left for the White House.
Newsom faced intense pressure from some of the top Black leaders in the country to choose Rep. Barbara Lee if a vacancy occurred, because of the depth of her experience and the length of her service to California. But he said he did not want to interfere in the ongoing race among Lee and fellow Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff and Katie Porter. Lee’s allies were furious about the possibility that Newsom would choose someone to serve just an “interim appointment” without having a chance to run for a full term. Ultimately, Newsom did not set any of those kinds of preconditions in his conversations with potential appointees, according to several people familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Newsom emphasized Monday in San Francisco that he had not placed any restrictions on whether Butler could run for a full term. “It’s up to her,” he said. “She’ll make that decision.”
When asked whether Butler would run for the full Senate term beginning in January 2025, a Butler spokesman said: “This week Laphonza is focused on respecting and honoring Senator Feinstein’s legacy and getting ready to serve the people of California in the Senate. Politics can wait.”
Several people with knowledge of Butler’s thinking said she has not made up her mind about whether she would seek a full term. It would be a steep climb this late in the race — particularly because Schiff’s team says he will report some $30 million in cash on hand at the end of third quarter for what is likely to be one of the most expensive races in the country next year. His official Federal Election Commission report showing those numbers will not be due to the FEC until Oct. 15.
Though Newsom ultimately passed over Lee, his appointment of Butler — who also has many allies in Washington and the Congressional Black Caucus — has been received largely positively by her new colleagues in Congress and by influential liberal lobbying groups.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday detailed Butler’s background growing up in Magnolia, Miss., where he said service was “practically a dinner table conversation.” Schumer noted that after the death of her father, Butler watched her mother “sacrifice everything to put her kids first” by working night shifts as a nurse, security guard and classroom aide. Pointing out that Butler is only the third woman in American history to serve in the U.S. Senate, he called the moment historic for California and the entire country.
“She’s the first openly lesbian senator from California, and she’s the first openly LGBTQ senator of color to serve in this body,” Schumer said. “Today the Senate takes another step towards fully reflecting our vibrant democracy.”
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is running for reelection in 2024, described Butler in a tweet as a “lifelong champion for women and girls and working families” and said Butler “will be effective from the start in delivering for the people of California.”
In California and across America, we continue to mourn the loss of a giant, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and honor her legacy.
Laphonza has proven her leadership in the fight for the values that Senator Feinstein stood for: including freedom, safety and justice for all.— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) October 2, 2023
In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus said Butler’s background and experience would bring “a much-needed perspective to the Senate, which currently does not have any Black women.”
Labor groups also weighed in with messages of support — including the Service Employees International Union, within which Butler has held several leadership positions in the past decade. The union represents 2 million child-care, health-care and other workers in the United States.
“Laphonza Butler has dedicated her life to uniting working people and fighting for economic and racial justice. She is a strong, passionate leader, and she will make an outstanding US Senator,” the union’s president, Mary Kay Henry, said in a statement.
