The death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein places Gov. Gavin Newsom under intense pressure to quickly name a replacement as a bitterly divided Congress votes on a spending plan in the coming hours to avert a government shutdown.
Newsom had hoped to avoid the politically charged decision of selecting a second senator. But he will need to move swiftly as a budget standoff has the government on the verge of shutting down, and Senate Democrats could need every vote. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) affirmed on Friday that the fast-moving political situation creates an imperative for Newsom to make a difficult decision quickly.
“He, you know, wants to be respectful and not name somebody while folks are still grappling with their grief,” Kaine said, but “we cannot afford to be one down. We really can’t.”
The timing of Feinstein’s death — four months before a primary but more than a year before the end of her term — complicates this election cycle. Staff at the California secretary of state’s office was huddling early Friday morning to determine the timelines that would govern an appointment or a possible special election.
If I were placing a bet, it would be on Shirley Weber, a black woman who Newsom appointed to be SoS when he named Alex Padilla to the US Senate. She’s a former state legislator, and at age 75 a 15 month appointment to the US Senate would be a fine way to cap off her political career, while making good on Newsom’s promise to name a black woman and to appointment a “caretaker” who wouldn’t run for the post.
deleted by creator
Let’s not pretend that anyone over the age of 70 immediately becomes mentally incompetent. That’s not only ridiculous it’s insulting. These things should be taken on a Case by case basis.
deleted by creator
Plenty of people over 70 still have cognitive function. Plenty of people over 70 benefit from decades of experience and relationship-building. Plenty of people over 70 make decisions for the benefit of later generations, either via a sense of altruism or to help their grandkids. Just because someone’s old doesn’t mean they’re shitty.
I’m all for running out the shitty old people, just like I’m for running out the shitty young people. But let’s not discount people for their age, either direction.
deleted by creator
The issue is they for the most part have no idea what technology is and thus how to regulate it. They’ve also grown in a completely different political landscape than what people want to see going forward and so it’s just fucking tiring. While I agree they can still do “fine”, people are fucking sick of that.
Correct. We need a lot fewer people like this in public office.
🤣 I remeber this Republican lunatic. Didn’t he also bring a snowball into Congress to disprove global warming?
Most of the shitty old people in congress started out as shitty young people in congress.
Most of the good old people in congress started out as good young people.
A good young or middle aged person is better in congress than a good elderly person, but a good elderly person is way, way better than a shitty young person.
But also let’s not assume they are too. Competency tests exist.
It’s also Ageist.
Perfect. It’s not overthinking it, while keeping a promise, and not rebuffing anyone who wants to or is already running for the seat. I hope he doesn’t fuck this up.
And then she stays for next 30+ years…
I’m joking, that sounds reasonable and would also fit his statement that he won’t pick up either of the running candidate to not tip the scale and to not tip it would have to be somebody who won’t run next year. So as long as she guarantees that she won’t run, then indeed she sounds like a great choice.
love it