NEW VIDEO: “Him? Really?” Damning POLITICO Report on Becerra’s Dangerous Incompetence
Former Biden administration colleagues describe Becerra:
“Absent”
“When there was a crisis — it was clear he didn’t know how to handle that”
“He took a backseat … didn’t visibly lead”
“Slow to activate or at times uninformed about the migrant crisis at the Southern border”
“Not prepared at all, almost to the point where it was an embarrassment”
“Very good at being a politician”
“An unfortunate choice”
SAN FRANCISCO – On the heels of a damning POLITICO report quoting Becerra’s own former colleagues who highlighted his ineffectiveness during his time as HHS Secretary, the Steyer for Governor campaign released a new video recapping his history of incompetence and corporate influence.
The explosive report is wide-ranging and thorough, raising serious questions about Becerra’s fitness for the job, and, per CNN’s Elex Michaelson, “challenging [the] premise of Becerra’s pitch that he ‘knows how to get stuff done’.”
Using Becerra’s own words – “Judge Me By What I’ve Done” – the new video cycles through Becerra’s ties to his top advisors’ corruption scandal, defending Chevron and corporate interests, and mishandling the crisis at the border, failing 85,000 migrant children.
“Being singled out for incompetence is embarrassing for Becerra, but it’s dangerous for all of us,” said Steyer for Governor spokesperson Danni Wang. “His lack of preparedness led to devastating consequences: he failed migrant children, losing track of more than 85,000 of them, and bungled public health crises that left the most vulnerable exposed.”
“Becerra’s priority remains pleasing the corporate interests that are funding both his campaign, and the campaign against Tom Steyer. California deserves a governor who is capable of leading, not a career politician whose incompetence has actively endangered our most vulnerable, and who is more focused on currying favor with special interests over bringing down costs for California families,” added Wang.
Key Excerpts from the POLITICO below and the full piece can be read here.
…former Biden administration officials — his one-time colleagues — reacting with a mix of incredulity, mockery and resignation.
“It’s like: ‘We need to figure out a candidate who can win!’ But then…him? Really?’” said one former Biden administration official. “It’s amazing.”
…Biden White House alumni have been marveling at his stroke of luck — and the growing possibility that a Cabinet official who was widely derided and deemed to have been in over his head could soon be the governor of the country’s largest state.
… “It gets the biggest laugh every time we send around a poll,” the first former official said, describing the perception across the administration that the former HHS secretary was ineffective on the Covid response, a migrant health crisis at the border and other matters.
“He ran one of the most consequential agencies in government at the height of the pandemic,” the former official continued. “But he took a backseat to Dr. Fauci and his team, didn’t visibly lead on implementation and had to go through layers to get to POTUS even as a Cabinet member.
A second former Biden official shared that view, describing Becerra as having been “absent” on Covid responses. So did a third former Biden official, who called Biden’s selection of the former California attorney general, who brought no medical or public health background to the job, “an unfortunate choice.”
Becerra, a fourth former Biden official said, “is very good at being a politician. When he was attorney general, the formula was: you file a lawsuit. When you’re a member of Congress, you help your constituents and you introduce legislation. When people noticed he wasn’t cut out for [the Cabinet] was when there was a crisis — it was clear he didn’t know how to handle that.”
A campaign representative said Becerra was unavailable.
…Beyond the Covid response, which was largely run out of the White House, Becerra seemed slow to activate or at times uninformed about the migrant crisis at the southern border when a rush of detainees overwhelmed federal facilities, according to four of the former officials.
At one point, leaders from some of the largest Latino advocacy organizations went to the White House and asked for Becerra to be included in more meetings. But some in the West Wing, including Biden, were frustrated by his apparent lack of preparation when he was in the room.
“He would go to brief the president and was not prepared at all, almost to the point where it was an embarrassment,” the fourth official said. “Biden would pepper him with questions and he would not be able to answer them.”
The chatter had been mostly private until Tuesday evening’s gubernatorial debate aired on CNN — during which one of his rivals, Matt Mahan, said Biden “had to sideline him during Covid because he wasn’t delivering results,” a claim Becerra refuted. Afterward during a panel appearance during the network’s post-debate coverage, former Biden Justice Department communications director Xochitl Hinojosa spoke of Becerra as “not effective” while leading HHS.
“A lot of people in the Biden administration are talking about this because they realize that he was not an effective HHS secretary,” Hinojosa said. “And if you ask any Cabinet secretary, they would tell you the same thing.”
… But Steyer’s campaign seized on Hinojosa’s comments, blasting them out Wednesday on X with a cutting comment: “Xavier Becerra’s colleagues don’t trust him. Why should you?...
… there’s little sugarcoating the resignation and lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy…
…“There are a lot of administration alumni running for office across the country and most of them have been endorsed by Biden and Harris,” the fourth official noted. “That hasn’t happened for Becerra and it’s obvious, at least to most of us, as to why.”
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