Laphonza Butler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laphonza Butler
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Official portrait, 2023
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| United States Senator from California |
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| Assumed office October 1, 2023 Serving with Alex Padilla
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| Appointed by | Gavin Newsom |
| Preceded by | Dianne Feinstein |
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| Born |
Laphonza Romanique Butler
May 11, 1979 Magnolia, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Neneki Lee |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Jackson State University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Laphonza Romanique Butler (/ləˈfɔːnzə/ lə-FON-zə; born May 11, 1979) is an American labor union official and politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2023. Butler began her career as a union organizer, and served as president of California SEIU State Council from 2013 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a regent of the University of California system from 2018 to 2021, and the president of EMILY's List from 2021 to 2023.
On October 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom chose Butler to fill the United States Senate seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein. She is the first LGBT African American to serve in the Senate.
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Early life and education
Butler was born on May 11, 1979, in Magnolia, Mississippi, the youngest of three children. Her father died of heart disease when Butler was 16 years old. She graduated as a salutatorian from South Pike High School in 1997. Butler earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Jackson State University in 2001.
Career
Butler began her career as a union organizer for nurses in Baltimore and Milwaukee, janitors in Philadelphia, and hospital workers in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2009, she moved to California, where she organized in-home caregivers and nurses and served as president of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers, SEIU Local 2015. Butler was elected president of the California SEIU State Council in 2013. She undertook efforts to boost California's minimum wage and raise income taxes on the wealthiest Californians. As president of SEIU Local 2015, Butler endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. Butler was one of California's electors who voted for Clinton in the 2016 election.
In 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Butler to a 12-year term as a regent of the University of California. She resigned from her role as regent in 2021.
Butler joined SCRB Strategies, a California-based political-consulting firm, as a partner in 2018. At SCRB, she played a central role in Kamala Harris's 2020 presidential campaign. She has been a political ally of Harris's since the latter's first run for California Attorney General in 2010, when she helped Harris negotiate a shared SEIU endorsement in the race. Butler advised Uber in its dealings with organized labor while at SCRB, at a time when Uber was attempting to stop state legislation from classifying its drivers as employees. The New York Times reported that Butler "advised Uber on how to deal with unions like the Teamsters and S.E.I.U., and sat in on several face-to-face meetings between the gig companies and union representatives". Butler left SCRB in 2020 to join Airbnb as director of public policy and campaigns in North America.
In 2021, Butler was named the third president of EMILY's List. She was the first black woman and first mother to lead the organization. In February 2022, Butler joined the board of directors of Vision to Learn.
U.S. Senate
Appointment
In February 2023, incumbent U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced she would not run for a sixth full term in the Senate in 2024. On September 29, 2023, she died at the age of 90. At the time of Feinstein's death, several prominent candidates had already announced campaigns for her seat, including U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. California Governor Gavin Newsom had previously pledged to nominate a black woman to the office.
On October 1, 2023, Newsom chose Butler to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Feinstein's death, fulfilling his pledge to appoint a black woman. Butler was selected despite not being a resident of California, as she had moved to Maryland in 2021. The United States Constitution requires only that senators be "inhabitants" of the state they represent. Newsom's office said that Butler would re-register to vote in California before taking office as a senator. Shortly before nominating Butler, Newsom announced that his nominee would be free to run in 2024 if they chose, a departure from his previous position. On October 19, 2023, Butler announced she would not seek election to a full term in 2024.
Butler became the first openly LGBT member of the U.S. Senate from California and its first black LGBT member, and was sworn in on October 3, 2023.
Tenure
Butler announced she would not run in the 2024 United States Senate election in California.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Committee on Rules and Administration
Caucus memberships
Personal life
Butler is a lesbian, and she and her wife, Neneki Lee, have a daughter. They moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, in 2021 when she assumed the presidency of EMILY's List, while continuing to own a home in View Park, California, in Los Angeles County. In October 2023, when Newsom appointed her to the Senate, she officially re-domiciled to that home and re-registered to vote in California.
See also
In Spanish: Laphonza Butler para niños
- List of African-American United States senators
- List of LGBT members of the United States Congress
- Women in the United States Senate
