Newsom would pick a caretaker — not Barbara Lee — for Senate seat

Gov. Gavin Newsom has ruled out appointing Rep. Barbara Lee to the U.S. Senate should Dianne Feinstein leave before her term is up.

“I don't want to get involved in the primary,” Newsom said in a taped interview that's set to air Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” It was the clearest he’s been in terms of opting for a Senate placeholder.

Newsom, a California Democrat, told host Chuck Todd that it would be unjust to the other 2024 candidates, including Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, if he were to appoint someone who would run for reelection.

“It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off. That primary is just a matter of months away. I don't want to tip the balance of that,” Newsom said in the interview.

Asked whether he intended to stick by his pledge to appoint a Black woman to the seat, Newsom said he did. “We hope we never have to make this decision, but I abide by what I've said very publicly on a consistent basis. Yes,” he said.

Lee trails her Democratic opponents Porter and Schiff by double-digits in public and private polls. Some of her supporters have held out the hope that — should it need to happen — Lee would be Newsom’s pick to serve out the remainder of Feinstein’s term. With that possibility seemingly dashed, Lee will face a steep climb given the others’ significant financial advantages.

Newsom, who has been close to Feinstein for decades, suggested several reasons he hopes not to have to make the appointment. He stressed he’s leaving it up to Feinstein on whether she should still be serving in Washington, likening her to a member of his own family. Feinstein, 90, has had significant health issues and a recent fall at her San Francisco home. Her family is locked in a bitter legal battle over her late husband’s estate. He died last year.

“I’m the most subjective human being in the world on this topic. I have no objectivity whatsoever,” Newsom said of the senator. “I've known Dianne Feinstein since I was a kid. I interned with her in college. I still have a signed book from my days when she was mayor.”

Newsom has already appointed the state’s junior senator, Democrat Alex Padilla, to fill the seat of Vice President Kamala Harris. Down-ballot, Newsom also tapped Attorney General Rob Bonta when Xavier Becerra returned to Washington to join the Biden administration as Health and Human Services secretary. And Newsom picked Shirley Weber to replace Padilla as California’s Secretary of State — the first African American to serve as the state’s top elections chief.

“I don't want to make another appointment, and I don't think the people of California want me to make another appointment,” Newsom said. “I’ve made plenty of appointments.”

But, he added, “it's my job, it's my responsibility. If we have to do it, we'll do it.”