Newsom accused of suggesting he'd replace Feinstein with a Black person to save face amid recall threat

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for trying to save face after he appeared to throw Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., under the bus earlier this week when he pledged to appoint a Black woman to fill her Senate seat should she step down.

A former communications director for Feinstein, Gil Duran, wrote an opinion article in The Sacramento Bee defending Feinstein and accusing Newsom of stabbing her in the back. "By dangling Feinstein’s seat, Newsom hopes to shore up support as he enters a challenging year," Duran wrote. "The only problem: Feinstein has four years left in this term." Hope Warschaw, a longtime Feinstein ally and donor from Santa Monica, was upset with the remarks and said Newsom "made a mistake," The Associated Press reported.