Earlier this morning, Duane looked into California Governor Gavin Newsom’s stunning decision to appoint Maryland resident and Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. There were so many things wrong with this bizarre choice that it’s difficult to even know where to begin. Aside from the fact that she has absolutely no governmental or political experience to prepare her for one of only 100 seats in what was formerly the world’s greatest deliberative body, she’s not even a California resident. (Read Duane’s article for all of the details on her Maryland residency if you missed it.) But hey… at least she’s a Black lesbian who is a fanatical supporter of abortion on demand up until the day of birth, so I suppose we all came out as the winners in this, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

We may have dodged a bullet with Newsom’s selection of Butler, however. I know some of you may be wondering how it could possibly have been worse, but there was one other potential candidate for that Senate seat chomping at the bit that would probably have been even more alarming. Only hours before Newsom announced his decision, the New York Post ran an article speculating that the phones had been “lighting up” following Feinstein’s death with suggestions that the Dutchess of Sussex would be willing to fill the seat until the next election. That’s right. Senator Meghan Markle certainly has a ring to it, no?

Could it be Sen. Meghan Markle?

It’s unlikely the Duchess of Sussex will be tapped to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who died Friday at the age of 90 — but that doesn’t mean the actress-turned-royal won’t toss her hat in the ring, the Daily Mail reports.

Sources told the outlet within minutes of the Senate stalwart’s passing, phones “lit up” with speculation that Markle might look to be appointed to fill the seat until Feinstein’s term expires in January 2025.

Calling California a clown show at this point would really be an insult to everyone who has ever worked in a circus. It’s true that Newsom never so much as uttered Markel’s name in reference to Feinstein’s seat and the Post is probably just spitballing to drive some clicks, but would it really be all that hard to believe at this point? After all, Markel and Butler have the same amount of governmental experience, which would be none at all. They are both considered celebrities in their own circles. The Dutchess is supposedly half African-American, though I couldn’t find any record of her ever having dated women, so perhaps Butler has the edge there. But other than that they are clearly equally qualified.

As a bonus, Markel knowingly chose to marry into the same royal family that we overthrew a couple of centuries back. One can never discount the value of honoring our history when making political appointments, after all. Plus, as a Senator, we would almost certainly have Prince Harry hanging around the Washington cocktail party circuit a lot more often, so the tabloid photo opportunities would be nearly endless.

Setting all of the well-deserved snark aside for the moment, I find myself wondering what this means for Gavin Newsom’s political future. He chose not to appoint himself, so his national ambitions are back on hold for the moment. I’ve yet to see any serious indications that Kamala Harris would be willing to step aside and now there is no conveniently open spot in the Senate for her, so Newsom won’t be taking her spot as veep. I suppose if Joe Biden took another nasty spill or suddenly announced that he was resigning for some reason, Harris would become president (God Save Us All). At that point, Newsom might be high on the VP list, but the situation would be out of his hands.

The other scenario is the Democrats’ nuclear option. If Biden and Harris both refuse to step aside and the Democrats think Uncle Joe will cost them the election next year, potentially bringing the Bad Orange Man back into power, the superdelegates at the Democratic Convention could boot Biden and Harris from the ticket entirely. That would still leave the situation out of Newsom’s control, but he would clearly be among the frontrunners to be Biden’s replacement. Of course, that would be a historic move that would rock the foundations of American politics. But look at the times we live in today and all of the insanity that’s swirling around us. Would it really be all that difficult to believe?