Politico: Becerra is Lonely and Lackluster

A new Politico report features several of Becerra’s former colleagues sounding the alarm on his “polarizing style” and “unformed plans”

Two-thirds of Becerra’s former California colleagues in Congress have declined to endorse him

CALIFORNIA –  “Painstaking.” “Aloof.” “Stubborn.” “Never a profile in courage.” “Light on policy specifics." These are not the words you want to define you as California voters make their final decisions in filling out their ballots.  

Xavier Becerra today woke up to a report in Politico that placed in context his patchy record and the 'polarizing style' now defining his gubernatorial bid.

“Congressional support for Becerra has been conspicuously absent in his gubernatorial bid,” wrote Politico. Of the 25 California Democrats now in Congress who served with Becerra two-thirds have declined to endorse him.

A House lawmaker who worked closely with him said Becerra was “never a profile in courage” during his decades-long tenure in Congress. 

Politico’s deep-dive also highlighted: 

• Becerra’s “Unformed Plans” – and that despite his 36 years as a career politician, Becerra has been “light on policy specifics and ideological beliefs,” leaving those who have met with him “perplexed by the dearth of vision.”
• "Johnny One-way" style of politics. A longtime member of the Latino political establishment said Becerra has "been a beneficiary of the camps, but he's never delivered for anybody else" – a pattern that stretches back decades.
• “He didn't give us a mission." A former HHS staffer said Becerra "wasn't around very much and didn't actually give us a mission" – a direct indictment of his executive leadership and ability to manage, especially in times of crisis.
• Becerra built bureaucracy, not bridges. A former senior White House official said Becerra "never really trusted the agencies to run their stuff" and instead "created a whole other layer of bureaucracy that was not needed and caused a lot of friction with the White House."
• Scandal follows his inner circle. The piece notes Becerra's longtime chief of staff Sean McCluskie, whom he relied on at both DOJ and HHS, has pleaded guilty on federal corruption fraud charges. Becerra “okayed” these payments – but questions still remain about whether or not Becerra could be indicted.

It’s worth noting that Becerra’s top spinmaster, Ron Klain, was featured in the piece trying to rehabilitate Becerra’s image yet again. (Klain’s employer Airbnb dumped over $1 million to boost Becerra to do their bidding.)

However, Becerra’s low favor among Biden and his former colleagues has been well-documented for years. President Biden "tore into" him during meetings for being ill-prepared and White House officials, including Susan Rice, privately referred to him as an “idiot.”  

In recent weeks, dozens of Becerra’s former colleagues have come forward citing his incompetence and inability to lead in times of crises. 

Election Day is tomorrow.

###