Jenkins has served as Newsom’s Judicial Appointment Secretary since January 2019. He briefly played professional football for the Seattle Seahawks before turning to a law career. Jenkins was appointed to the California First District Court of Appeal in 2008 by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, remaining in that position before his 2019 retirement. Newsom revealed Jenkins’s nomination during a Monday news briefing.
“As a lawyer and a judge, he’s built an irreproachable reputation as a person of fortitude and fairness,” Newsom said, adding that Jenkins understood that “despite what the Declaration says, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not simply unalienable. They must be relentlessly protected and defended.”
Jenkins thanked Newsom for the appointment, acknowledging that his appointment to the state Supreme Court may have historic repercussions.
“There have been firsts and there will continue to be firsts,” Jenkins said Monday. “There is a significant responsibility that goes with being first, that I think can be best dispatched in doing the work at the highest level I possibly can.”
If approved, Jenkins would replace Republican Justice Ming Chin who retired in August. Before he can take the bench, Jenkins’s nomination must be confirmed by California’s Commission on Judicial Appointments. Jenkin’s seat on the bench would place five justices nominated by Democratic governors to only two justices nominated by Republican governors.
Newsweek reached out to the California GOP for comment.
Newsom’s announcement came as California experienced another first. A wildfire known as the August Complex became the first fire in recent state history to burn over 1 million acres of land. That represents an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Newsom said during Monday’s briefing that the August Complex is 54 percent contained.
“This is simply the largest wildfire in the state’s history,” Newsom said, adding that the fire’s size predates state records as far back as 1932.
In total, wildfires have burned over 4 million acres in California resulting in a record wildfire season. Over 16,000 firefighters have engaged in trying to fight the fires.
Newsom said in September that high temperatures due to climate change were a primary reason for the number of wildfires. During a meeting with Newsom, President Donald Trump said in September that “it will start getting cooler.”
Addressing Trump’s claim, Newsom said during a September briefing that the existence of climate change had nothing to do with one’s political party. “It’s not a belief system,” Newsom said, “it’s an acknowledgment. The facts are the facts.”
