California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY’s List, to fill the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, his office confirmed Sunday evening.

Butler will become the sole Black female senator serving in Congress and only the third in US history. Feinstein, the longest-serving female US senator in history, died last week at 90.

The selection of Butler, first reported by Politico, comes as Democrats hold a narrow Senate majority and uncertainty looms over New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s political future amid outcry from his Democratic colleagues over his federal indictment.

Butler has been the president of EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, since the group’s board of directors appointed her in 2021, when she became the first woman of color to lead the organization. She previously worked at Airbnb as a director of public policy and campaigns and advised Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, but much of her background is in the labor movement, serving as a union president in California.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    To be fair…

    The entire point of the PAC is to donate to women who will fight for women to have access to abortion…

    But their biggest recipient is a man…

    Although he’s better than Sinema, who got most of her money from this PAC and then continues to threaten to fillibuster any codifying of abortion access.

    The takeaway here is either the people running the PAC are terrible at their job, or not trying to do what they tell everyone they’re trying to do when asking for donations. And for some reason that qualifies their president for an “interm” Senate seat.

    This is nothing but political back patting and payback for giving money to the party’s preferred candidate even tho it made zero logical sense.

    • BB69@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Would you have preferred they not have donated anything at all

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Than being Sinema’s largest donor?

        Yes, absolutely I would have preferred they didn’t help her win the primary and then general…

        For Biden? He got 10% of what was donated to the PAC, seems kind of inefficient.

        And again, not what the people who gave money to the PAC thought it would be used for.

        You don’t see any problems with any of that?

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sinema-opposes-bidens-call-filibuster-exception-pass-abortion/story?id=86069899

            Edit:

            Oh, and before you try to say that’s not opposing it:

            “We believe the decision by Sen. Sinema is not only a blow to voting rights and our electoral system but also to the work of all the partners who supported her victory and her constituents who tried to communicate the importance of this bill,” said Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler.

            https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/emily-s-list-naral-pull-support-sinema-over-filibuster-opposition-n1287789

            Although I’m sure moderates will line up to tell me with enough doublethink the moderates were right at all times again.

            That shit never gets old.

            • Cleverdawny@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              So I was right and she didn’t vote against abortion. She’s in favor of the filibuster.

              And, wait, okay, first you blame them for donating to Sinema, and now you praise Emily’s List for withdrawing support from her? Make up your fucking mind lmfao

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                If you keep giving your life savings to Nigerian princes, it doesn’t matter if you eventually figure it out then keep falling for it.

                It’s not that difficult, but I guess it would make sense some people fall for it.

                I’d recommend spending less time online if you’re that gullible tho, lots of people would take advantage of you.

                  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    Ever wonder if when people always fail to explain things to you, it’s not that everyone you disagree with is bad at explaining things?

                    Maybe it’s just you start insulting them, so they stop trying to help you understand?

                    I’ve tried to explain things to you before, and you did the same thing…

                    Why would I ever try again?

        • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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          1 year ago

          That was in her run before she became the DINO queen. They’ve since pulled support because she sucks. Before she was elected she appeared to be ok. Not great, but not obviously shit.