In a move that was a surprise even to Rep. Becerra himself, California Governor Jerry Brown just appointed Congressman Xavier Becerra to replace Senator-elect Kamala Harris at the position of California Attorney General. Becerra, previously #4 in the House Democratic leadership, will now be California’s first latino Attorney General, and will have a outsized political platform to weigh in on the issues of the day, at a moment where struggles between the GOP-controlled federal government and the Democratic-controlled state of California are liable to define the next two years. It also potentially provides Becerra with a good position to make a run for president in 2020 or for Feinstein’s seat in the senate in 2018, if he distinguishes himself at the position.
Very interesting. I’ll give Jerry Brown this, he is one hell of a savvy political chess player. This reminds me a bit of how he appointed Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court after the GOP blocked his nomination by Obama to federal court.