Other positions to fillWith Newsom's decision to appoint Padilla to the Senate seat, he will be facing even more pressure to tap a non-Latino for the various other positions he is expected to need to fill in the coming months.
Should Attorney General Xavier Becerra be confirmed as the country's next Health and Human Services secretary, then Newsom will likely face growing calls to name Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, a former judge who is African American, as Becerra's successor.It is also speculated that Newsom will name former San Francisco supervisor Malia Cohen, a Black woman now on the state's Board of Equalization, to succeed Padilla as secretary of state.Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), a progressive.