Pamela Cruz. Pen sula 360 Press [P360P].
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday appointed Alex Padilla to be California's first U.S. senator, filling the vacancy left by vice president-elect Kamala Harris, who is set to take office on Jan. 20.
In a statement, the governor's office said Padilla is the current California secretary of state, previously served as a Los Angeles city councilman and state senator, and is a national leader in the fight to expand voting rights.
He added that Alex Padilla becomes the first Latino to represent the state of California in the upper house of the United States Congress and is also the first citizen from the south of the state to join the Senate in almost three days.