Sacramento lawmaker headlines new group of California Senate leaders
Sacramento Democratic state Sen. Angelique Ashby will be the upper house’s Majority Leader, part of a leadership shuffle announced by the new President pro Tempore Monique Limón, D-Goleta, Tuesday night.
Ashby was elected in 2022 after serving 12 years on the Sacramento City Council, and has been Assistant Majority Leader and Chair of the Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. In her new role, which she takes over from Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, Ashby will be second-in-command to Limón, in charge of managing the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda during daily sessions.
Last year, before Limón was picked, Ashby was reportedly a possible contender to replace pro Tem Mike McGuire.
She has been quick to praise Limón, who she described earlier this week during a phone interview as “kind, generous and sweet” and “thoughtful and conscientious.”
Of her new role, she said she’s “honored” to serve and “grateful” to Limón.
Ashby drew the ire of some local mayors this year when she put forward SB 802, a bill that would create a collaborative public agency for homelessness in the Sacramento region. She put the effort on pause last year, and is expected to pick it up again this session.
More women in leadership
The announcement, which went into effect immediately Tuesday, marks the first time in California history that the pro Tem and majority leader of the Senate are both women.
Limón, who served two terms as vice-chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, and is the first Latina and mother to lead the Senate has also elevated other women of color to powerful roles in the Senate. The chair of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, and all five of the budget subcommittee chairs are women of color: Sen. Gonzalez, Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Panorama City, Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, and Sen. Laura Richardson, D-San Pedro.
Committee chairs are the powerful arbiters of what bills can be heard in each committee, and the heads of budget subcommittees help determine funding for state programs.
Conspicuously absent in the lineup of leaders of standing committees is pro Tem Emeritus Mike McGuire, who left his former role after a 21-month stretch. McGuire will be the chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, and will sit on the Joint Rules Committee. He announced in November he is running to represent California’s 1st Congressional District, a seat currently held by Rep. Doug LaMalfa.
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who is also running for Congress, doesn’t seem to be slowing down too much. Although he will no longer be Chair of the Budget Committee, he has taken up the chairmanship of the Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments, and will serve on four other committees.
A final change is the creation of two new standing committees: Emergency Management and Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection. Limón didn’t comment Tuesday night on the two committees, which will be helmed by Sen. Henry Stern, D-Sherman Oaks, and Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-West Sacramento, respectively.
Of the Emergency Management Committee, Stern wrote: “This is a critical reform undertaken by PT Limon that’ll strengthen the Senate’s hand in both oversight and policymaking in a high stakes era for emergency management in California,” on X Wednesday morning.
The official creation of both committees, as well as most other changes to existing committees, will take place on Feb. 1, according to a press release issued by Limón’s office Tuesday night.
This story was originally published December 24, 2025 at 1:18 PM.