- Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra filed to run for California Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2030.
- Becerra has more than $1.7 million in campaign contributions left over in his old California attorney general account.
The nation's top health official is running to be the chief of California public schools.
In 2030.
Maybe.
Xavier Becerra, current US secretary of health and human services and former Democratic attorney general of California, recently filed paperwork to run for California Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2030.
Becerra, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to his current office in 2021, is not running for attorney general this year, but has a committee for Becerra for Attorney General 2022 that's still active.
It's entirely possible Becerra will never actually run for superintendent in California. His creation of a new political committee is likely an accounting mechanism for him to preserve full, future access to his $1.76 million in left-over California campaign cash.
Despite his filing in California, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said Becerra has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
"The Secretary would tell you he's not leaving his position today, tomorrow or during this Administration," HHS spokesperson Sarah Lovenheim told Insider. "The Secretary simply filed documents to preserve funds from his now-defunct 2022 Becerra for Attorney General account pursuant to California law."
If Becerra hadn't done anything about the money past December 31, any funds still on the account of Becerra for Attorney General 2022 would become "surplus funds" — money he couldn't directly use for a future election in California.
Under California election rules, a candidate must eventually transfers leftover funds from an inactive political committee or they become "surplus" funds that can no longer be used for active campaign purposes.
Such "surplus" funds may only be used for several specific or limited expenditures, including payments for outstanding campaign debts or officeholder expenses, refunds to contributors, donations to a nonprofit organization, or contributions to support or oppose any candidates for elective office in a state other than California.
Becerra's filing was first noted by Rob Pyers, research director for the nonpartisan California Target Book.
'Unusual circumstance'
In California, it's not unusual for politicians to open a committee for an office years away, said Jay Wierenga, communications director at the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
Assuming one follows the law and regulations, he told Insider, there are ways to legally transfer money from one committee to another for a future run for political office.
"It is very common for people to open a committee for a potential run for a future office," he said. "It is legal, as long as regulations are followed."
While Becerra's actions may be something that's legal under the letter of what California rules say, they raise questions on his intentions, Patrick Llewellyn, director of the state and local campaign finance program at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Insider.
"It is a very unusual circumstance for someone to declare their candidacy for any office this far in advance," he said. "Given California's rules for leftover committee funds, it raises questions about his reasons for doing so."
Ann Ravel, former chair of both the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said Becerra could be opening the new account for several reasons.
"One of them is for economics and also to dissuade potential opponents from running," Ravel told Insider.
Becerra has been subjected to much criticism in his role, from his handling of the coronavirus pandemic to his response to the monkeypox outbreak, but he could conceivably serve in his current position until 2029 if Biden runs for and wins re-election to the White House.