@
LeopoldBloom Harris will likely resign
before January 3rd in order to give her replacement seniority over other Democrats who were elected on November 3rd and can't be sworn in until January 3rd.
When Republican Sen. Pete Wilson was elected Governor of California in 1990, he beat Democrat Dianne Feinstein in the election.
Wilson then resigned from the Senate and appointed Republican state Senator John Seymour to the U.S. Senate. A special election was held on the same day as the 1992 general election to fill out the remainder of Wilson's term (which would expire January 3, 1995).
When DiFi beat Seymour in 1992, DiFi was sworn in on November 10th - a mere week after the election. This enabled DiFi to take office before any of the other Democrat Senators elected on the same day (including fellow Californian Barbara Boxer).
This gave DiFi greater seniority over them, helping her gain in seniority on Senate committee assignments.