(Sacramento, CA) — Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.

In choosing Butler, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman to the position. However, he had been facing pressure from some politicians and advocacy groups to select Representative Barbara Lee, a prominent Black congresswoman who is already running for the seat.