Attorney General Kamala D. Harris stepped down as California Attorney General on Tuesday and was sworn in to the United States Senate in Washington, D.C.

Before resigning, Attorney General Harris named Kathleen “Kate” Alice Kenealy Chief Deputy Attorney General.

Kenealy will lead the California Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General until such time as Governor Brown’s selected candidate, Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-LA), is confirmed by the state legislature as California’s next Attorney General.

Acting Attorney General Kenealy joined the Office of the Attorney General in August 2003 as a Deputy Attorney General in the Natural Resources Law Section. She became the section’s Senior Assistant Attorney General in September 2010. For more than five years, Acting Attorney General Kenealy has served as the Chief Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Law Division. In that capacity, she has led the office’s representation of state officials, state employees, and more than 200 state agencies. The Civil Division provides advice to its client agencies, defends cases brought against them, and prosecutes cases to vindicate state interests.

Acting Attorney General Kenealy has also partnered with the Division of Administrative Services to create first-class eDiscovery support for the office, assisted with the establishment of the Bureau of Children’s Justice, and worked closely in support of the Attorney General’s Honors DAG program.