Polygraph

Gavin Newsom appointed Shirley Weber as Secretary of State.

Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
6 support
Said
1 time·
Confidence
95%
The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
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Multiple independent sources (AP, Politico, LA Times, Governor's office, CA Secretary of State) confirm Gavin Newsom selected Shirley Weber in December 2020 to be California's Secretary of State, to replace Alex Padilla after Padilla's Senate appointment; she was formally sworn in January 29, 2021.

A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.

What was said

… This was when COVID was going on, Newsom was under the gun, and the recall election was going on. He needed to get all of the ethnic groups to turn out and vote for him, otherwise he was going to get kicked out of office. And he gave Shirley Weber the Secretary of State's job, so that's a plum to the blacks. And then he gave Alex Padilla the U.S. Senate seat, that's a plum to the Mexicans. …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. AP and Politico reported in December 2020 that Newsom tapped Assemblymember Shirley Weber to become California's next Secretary of State.[1][5]

Supports. The Governor's office and the Secretary of State's official biography state Newsom nominated Weber, and she was sworn in on January 29, 2021.[3][4]

Supports. Wikipedia and Reuters describe Weber as having been appointed by Newsom to the post in December 2020, succeeding Padilla.[2][6]

Sources

6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 1 not rated

  1. 1California first: A Latino U.S. senator to replace Harrisapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  2. 2In California recall, state's top lawyers put politics asidereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
  3. 3About - California Secretary of Statesos.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  4. 4Governor Newsom Formally Appoints Alex Padilla to the U.S. ...gov.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  5. 5Newsom names Shirley Weber as California secretary of statepolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  6. 6Shirley Weber - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports

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Said in 1 published post

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