What is Laphonza Butler?
{{Infobox officeholder | name = Laphonza Butler | office = [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] <br> from [[California]] | termstart = October 3, 2023 | term_end = December 8, 2024 | predecessor = [[Dianne Feinstein]] | successor = [[Adam Schiff]] | appointer = [[Gavin Newsom]] | birth_name = Laphonza Romanique Butler | birth_place = [[Magnolia, Mississippi]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|5|11}} | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | children = 1 | education = [[Jackson State University]] <br> ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | signature = Laphonza Butler signature.svg | spouse = Neneki Lee | website = {{URL|butler.senate.gov|Senate website}} | image = File:Laphonza Butler Senate photo, 2023.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2023 }} '''Laphonza Romanique Butler''' (born May 11, 1979) is an American [[union organizer]] and politician. She was a [[United States senator]] from [[California]] from 2023 to 2024. [[File:Laphonza Butler sworn in by VP Kamala Harris, 2023.jpg|thumb|Butler sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris.]] On October 1, 2023, California Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] chose Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat that was left vacant by the death of [[Dianne Feinstein]]. She is the first Black lesbian to serve in the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 2, 2023|title=Newsom taps Laphonza Butler for Feinstein's Senate seat|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-01/newsom-taps-laphonza-butlerfor-feinstein-senate-seat|access-date=October 14, 2023|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Butler did not run for election to the Senate in 2024. She resigned from the Senate on December 8, 2024. [[Adam Schiff]] took her Senate seat.<ref>{{cite news|first1=David|last1=Lightman|access-date=February 14, 2025|title=As California’s Adam Schiff sworn in on US Senate floor, Laphonza Butl