Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 24) – Lawmaker Rob Bonta has been appointed as California’s new attorney general, becoming the first Filipino American to hold such position.
The California legislature confirmed Bonta’s appointment on Thursday, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Bonta to succeed Xavier Becerra as the state’s top law enforcer. Becerra was appointed as the new US Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The state assembly voted in favor of Bonta’s nomination, 62-0, while the California Senate approved the 49-year-old legislator’s nomination in a 29-6 vote.
Bonta, a member of the Democratic Party, is the second Asian American to assume the post after party mate and now US Vice President Kamala Harris.
In his confirmation hearing, Bonta vowed to push for significant changes in the criminal justice system as he assumes the post amid multiple cases of police brutality and anti-Asian hate crimes in the US.
“California DOJ must be an organization that infuses more justice, more humanity, more fairness and more safety into our institutions,” Bonta said.
Bonta was born in Quezon City, but he and his family moved to the US when he was just two months old. He completed his undergraduate and law studies at Yale University.
In 2012, Bonta became the first Filipino American elected in the state assembly to represent an east Bay Area district.
Bonta is expected to vie for reelection in his new post in the 2022 elections. The California attorney general serves a four-year term, with a maximum of two terms.
