Gov. Gavin Newsom has selected Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist who rose to prominence in the labor movement, to fill the Senate seat of Dianne Feinstein, who died Friday at age 90, Newsom’s office confirmed.

The choice fulfills the governor’s promise to appoint a black woman, but chides him for calling on Rep. Barbara Lee, a prominent black congresswoman from Oakland who is running for the position in

the 2024

election.

Butler is the president of EMILYs List, a national political organization focused on electing Democratic women who support abortion access. She has deep experience in Democratic politics, having previously chaired a powerful labor union and served as an adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.

It’s a historic appointment for a governor who has prioritized appointing LGBTQ+ people to positions of power. Butler will be the first person of color to serve in the Senate.

It could also disrupt the 2024 Senate race, which is already well underway. Butler has connections that could make her a formidable fundraiser, which would be necessary for any candidate entering a race just six months before the March primary, while other candidates have been fundraising all year.

Newsom has faced scathing criticism since announcing plans to appoint a temporary caretaker to the coveted post, a heat his administration sought to ease on Sunday by offering assurances that the appointed governor would be free to take office in 2024 launch Senate campaign.

“If that person decides she wants to pursue a full term in office in 2024, then she is free to do so. There is absolutely no litmus test, no promise, Newsom spokesman Anthony York said Sunday morning, just hours before the governor announced his pick.

It marks the second time Newsom has appointed a U.S. senator for California, a rare exercise of power that last occurred in 1953, when then-Gov. Earl Warren tapped Thomas Kuchel as senator after appointing William Knowland several years earlier.

With the race for Feinstein’s successor in 2024 already underway, Newsom faced competing political pressures in making the selection.

The

Democrats

‘

The small majority in the Senate created the urgency for him to act quickly. But he had already made public promises that limited his options, promising to name a black woman and stay out of it

current senate

race by not tapping any of the current candidates.

Three Democratic members of Congress are running: Lee, who is black, and Representatives. Katie Porter of Irvine and Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, who are white. Newsom said earlier this month, when appointing a replacement for Feinstein was still hypothetical, that he did not want to interfere with the election by appointing one of them to the post and would instead appoint a short-term caretaker.

That angered Lee and her supporters because Newsom promised to appoint a Black woman, a constituency that is both loyal and influential in Democratic politics. There have been no Black women in the U.S. Senate since California Sen. Kamala Harris resigned in 2021 to become vice president.

Since Feinstein died Friday, Lee’s supporters have waged an aggressive campaign calling on Newsom to tap her.

“The most qualified person on day one to fill Senator Dianne Feinstein’s legacy is none other than Congresswoman Barbara Lee,” Steven Horsford, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday.

‘She has experience with the Foreign Affairs. She has experience with budgets, at a time when cuts to every program that helps working people and families are under attack. She has experience fighting for social and economic justice and women’s rights. And at a time when all of our rights are under attack, we need the most prepared person to help us in the Senate.”

So does the Caucus sent Newsom a letter He advocated for Lee, and Horsford said he spoke to Newsom about it by phone and in person.

“We ask him to understand the timing of this appointment not only for the people of California, but for the people of the United States,” Horsford said.

Newsom has been under pressure to appoint a Black woman to the Senate since late 2020, when it became clear that Harris would resign to become vice president. Instead, he appointed Alex Padilla to fill Harris’ seat, making him the first Latino to represent California in the Senate but frustrating Americans who want Black women to be represented in the Senate.

Butler is a former resident of California but currently lives in Maryland, according to her online biography. The U.S. Constitution requires people to live in the state they want to represent when elected to the Senate. But for people who are appointed, the law is that they must reside in the state upon taking office, said Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the UCLA School of Law.

So in theory, someone could change their place of residence by appointment, he told The Times on Friday.