Sen.-elect Adam B. Schiff will be sworn in as California’s next U.S. senator on Monday, replacing Sen. LaFonza Butler, according to people familiar with the deal.
Butler, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to temporarily fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein following her death in September 2023. Mr. Schiff was elected last month to serve the remainder of Mr. Feinstein’s term, as well as a term in the Senate. A full six-year term starting in January.
A spokesperson for Schiff, a Burbank Democrat who has served in the House for nearly a quarter of a century, thanked Butler for his support during the transition process, as well as Newsom and New York State Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He said he is doing so.
A spokeswoman for Mr Butler said he would remain in office until he was sworn in. Former Congresswoman Laura Friedman, a Democrat, won the Schiff Congressional District and is scheduled to be sworn into her old seat next month.
Mr. Schiff and Mr. Butler are following a similar transition schedule as New Jersey Democrats Sen. George Helmy and Sen.-elect Andy Kim. Helmy, a former chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, was appointed by Murphy in August to replace Sen. Robert Menendez, who resigned after being convicted on corruption charges. Kim was elected as a lawmaker last month and is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday, his spokesman said.
Butler rose to prominence in the labor movement and became a Democratic strategist before Newsom selected her for the Senate post. She didn’t run to get a seat.
Schiff defeated Democratic rivals Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Barbara Lee in last year’s primary, and easily defeated Republican former Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey in last month’s general election.
Feinstein, 90, was elected California’s first female senator in 1992 and has held the seat since. She died while in office.
With Schiff’s oath of office, California will be without a female senator for the first time since 1993, when former Sen. Barbara Boxer joined the state’s representation.
Schiff will join California’s junior senator Alex Padilla, who was appointed to the Senate in 2021 and elected to expire in 2022. Mr. Padilla is also a Democrat.
Schiff rose to national prominence during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in the White House as Trump’s opponent in the House and as the leader of multiple investigations into Trump and his allies. He also helped lead President Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Schiff ran in part because of that record, but he said he wants to focus on the economic concerns of Californians and Americans across the country in the Senate, including housing, homelessness and child care.
It is unclear what Mr. Schiff’s duties in the Senate will be. Appointments are based in part on seniority, something Schiff lacks in the Senate despite his long tenure in the House.
Schiff will serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term and Kim will serve the remainder of Menendez’s term, giving them some seniority over other freshman senators elected last month and sworn in next month. . The timing also allows Mr. Schiff and Mr. Kim to serve as members of the Senate’s narrow Democratic majority for several weeks until Republicans take control in January.
