California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra left a group of reporters behind Wednesday after declining to respond to repeated questions about his record on migrant children while serving as President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services secretary.
The exchange unfolded in Sacramento, moments after Becerra finished a press conference focused on state voting rights legislation. He appeared at the event in his role as an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project before reporters pressed him on his tenure at HHS.
“Do you have any regrets about your HHS career?” The California Post’s Titus Wu asked twice as Becerra turned away and kept walking without offering an answer.
The Democratic candidate ignored nearly all of the questions directed at him as he exited. The only point he addressed was whether he would debate Republican opponent Steve Hilton, which he confirmed he would.
The tense moment comes as Becerra’s handling of the migrant child crisis has become an increasingly prominent issue in the California governor’s race.
Hilton has repeatedly targeted Becerra over the controversy, making the former HHS secretary’s record a central line of attack in the campaign.
Becerra has also faced criticism from within his own party during the Democratic primary, adding to the pressure around his time leading Health and Human Services and making the subject a difficult one on the campaign trail.
“Xavier Becerra wants to be governor while dodging questions from the press and a debate with me. What else do you expect from a lazy, arrogant, entitled ’empty suit’ 36-year machine politician who sent thousands of migrant kids to child traffickers to try and save his career?” Hilton posted on X.
Asked why Becerra declined to answer reporters’ questions, campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland said the candidate was on a tight schedule and needed to leave for a private event in Fresno.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time speaking with the journalists that he’s going to have to work with if he’s elected. Like I said, we’re going to be in Sacramento a lot,” Underland said.
