California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) will appoint Laphonza Butler to fill Senator Dianne Feinstein’s vacant seat.
Newsom selected Laphonza Butler, whose only qualifications primarily revolve around her involvement in Kamala Harris’s failed 2020 presidential campaign, and being a “black lesbian.”
According to Politico, “California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, elevating the head of a fundraising juggernaut that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, according to a person familiar with the decision.”
This appointment has sparked an immediate scandal due to the fact that Butler lives in Maryland.
FEC filings from EMILY's List record Laphonza Butler's residence as Silver Springs, Maryland as recently as 31 days ago. https://t.co/FjZkJ9Ugf0 pic.twitter.com/2FzA8MVqfU
— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) October 2, 2023
California’s newest Senator Laphonza Butler literally lives in Maryland and registered to vote here LAST YEAR https://t.co/0Ps00L3Nuq pic.twitter.com/YImmk48n5y
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) October 2, 2023
Dianne Feinstein passed away at the age of 90 on Thursday night, marking the end of her tenure as the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate.
Last month, during an appearance on Meet the Press, Governor Newsom said he would make an “interim appointment” and suggested that he would choose a black woman to succeed Feinstein even though two white people (Adam Schiff and Katie Porter) are leading the 2024 race for the seat.
This appointment means that California will now have two U.S. Senators who were not elected by the people.
Previously, Newsom selected former California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to assume Kamala Harris’s Senate seat after he directed $35 million toward a company associated with the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020. This decision raised concerns about Padilla’s involvement in California politics for many years, and some have alleged that he effectively purchased Kamala Harris’s Senate seat.
Republicans serving on the House Oversight and House Administration Committees had previously called for an investigation into Alex Padilla regarding a “highly questionable” taxpayer-funded $35 million no-bid contract awarded by his office to a firm with ties to the Biden campaign.
Getting back to Butler, a cover-up of the situation is already underway. EMILY’s List, the radical pro-abortion organization she was associated with, promptly removed her Maryland residency from their records.
It’s important to note that simply owning property in a state does not make one a resident of that state. Given that Butler isn’t even registered to vote in California, it becomes quite apparent that she does not reside there and lacks formal residency. Questions arise regarding her tax payments, her state of driver’s license issuance, and whether she has declared California residency within the last two years.
It appears EMILY’s list has removed the final line in Laphonza Butler’s bio that states she lives in Maryland. pic.twitter.com/6wYYYJEqoE
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) October 2, 2023
Butler even forgot to remove her location data from her bio until AFTER she was appointed:
Oh hey, look who remembered to remove the Location data from her bio overnight! It’s California’s newest Senator! pic.twitter.com/x90OxXoSd6
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) October 2, 2023
