NBC News reported recently that his shortlist consists of two Black women and two Latinx men, one of whom is gay. The women are Barbara Lee and Karen Bass, both currently U.S.
House members, and the men are California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, a gay man. Earlier, many more names were mentioned, including another member of the LGBTQ+ community, Toni Atkins, a lesbian who is president pro tempore of the California Senate.
All are Democrats, as Newsom, a Dem himself, is expected to choose a member of his own party.If Garcia is appointed, he would be the first out gay man to be a U.S.