“It gets the biggest laugh every time we send around a poll,” one former administration official said, describing the collective disbelief that the former Health and Human Services secretary could soon lead the nation’s most populous state.
Becerra’s abrupt rise from afterthought to frontrunner in California’s crowded June primary has left former Biden colleagues reacting with a blend 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 official. “It’s amazing.” The shift came after former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign collapsed, catapulting Becerra to the top of the field in a matter of weeks.
Six former Biden administration officials, all granted anonymity to speak candidly about a former colleague, described a widespread perception across the administration that Becerra was ineffective during his tenure. “He ran one of the most consequential agencies in government at the height of the pandemic,” the first former official said. “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 official described Becerra as having been “absent” on Covid responses. A third former Biden official called Biden’s selection of the former California attorney general, who brought no medical or public health background to the job, “an unfortunate choice.” The criticism extended beyond the pandemic to his handling of a migrant health crisis at the southern border, where former officials said he failed to demonstrate visible leadership.
“He is very good at being a politician,” a fourth former Biden official said. “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 for comment, referring inquiries to Ron Klain, who served as White House chief of staff for the first two years of Biden’s term and was an early supporter of Becerra’s gubernatorial run. Klain pushed back forcefully on the critiques, defending Becerra’s record as one of the most effective Cabinet secretaries during a difficult period.
The former colleagues’ reactions underscore a deeper anxiety among California Democrats who have watched their party’s primary field narrow unexpectedly. What they wanted was a commanding frontrunner. What they got, they say with a mix of humor and unease, is a candidate many of them never took seriously in the first place.
