[12][13] Bass studied philosophy at San Diego State University from 1971 to 1973 and graduated from the Keck School of Medicine of USC Physician Assistant Program in 1982.

After consolidating the support of a majority of legislators, including some who had previously been planning to run for the speakership themselves, Bass was elected speaker on February 28, 2008, and sworn in on May 13, 2008.

[26] Negotiations over a spending plan to address a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall began the day Bass was sworn in.

[29]Bass, Dave Cogdill, Darrell Steinberg, and Michael Villines received the 2010 Profile in Courage Award for their leadership in the budget negotiations and their efforts to address the severe financial crisis.

The five major donors to her campaign were labor unions, with $101,950; financial institutions, with $90,350; health professionals, with $87,900; the entertainment industry, with $52,400; and lawyers and law firms, with $48,650.

On August 3, 2016, Bass launched a petition to have then-candidate Donald Trump psychologically evaluated, suggesting that he exhibited symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

[36] Fueled by Trump's election and to channel Angelenos' political frustrations, Bass created the Sea Change Leadership PAC to activate, educate, and mobilize voters.

Representative Seth Moulton and others who felt the current leadership was "too old" gathered signatures to replace Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats' leader.

[40] In July 2020, Bass was discussed as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

[37][48][49] Biden reportedly narrowed the field of possible vice presidential selections to a few women, and Bass "gained real traction in the late stage of the search".

Bass gave a speech praising the Church of Scientology for what she described as fighting against inequality, singling out the words of founder L. Ron Hubbard "that all people of whatever race, color or creed are created with equal rights.

"[51][52] In 2020, Bass defended her past remarks, tweeting that she had addressed "a group of people with beliefs very different than my own" and "spoke briefly about things I think most of us agree with".

[53][54] In addition, Bass tweeted that "[s]ince then, published first-hand accounts in books, interviews and documentaries have exposed [the Church of Scientology].

"[54] Bass was also criticized for a statement she had made in 2016 on the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, which she called a "great loss to the people of Cuba".

[56] When Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate, Bass tweeted, "@KamalaHarris is a great choice for Vice President.

[58] Ultimately, Biden nominated Ohio Representative Marcia Fudge and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to the posts, respectively.

Later that year, she introduced a change to the order that made affordable housing projects in single-family neighborhoods ineligible for fast-tracking.

[67] In July 2024, she imposed further restrictions on affordable housing, making them ineligible for fast-tracking in "historic districts" and on lots that already have rent-controlled apartments.

[73] At the start of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, Bass was attending the inauguration of John Mahama as president in Ghana, despite promising not to travel abroad during her term as mayor.

[85][86] After initially declining to respond to criticism,[87] Bass stated on January 9 that "there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation" before refusing to answer further questions about the topic.

[97] In 2019, she voted in favor of the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing, employment, education, credit and financing, and more.

This reform aims to change child welfare systems across the country by addressing the top reasons children are removed from their homes and placed in foster care.

Bass believes that the criminal justice system is broken in part due to the disproportionate incarceration rates of poor people of color.

[102] In 2018, she voted in favor of the First Step Act, which focused on rehabilitating people in prison by incentivizing them with the possibility of an earlier release.

Her contribution to the bill was a section addressing what she considers the inhumane practice of shackling women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

Despite this, Bass was one of more than 115 House Democrats to sign a letter in 2020 criticizing Israel's plan to annex parts of Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.

The Student Loan Fairness Act of 2019 addresses this crisis in three major ways: creating a new "10-10" standard, capping the interest rate, and accounting for the cost of living.

[111][112][110] The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on a mostly party-line vote of 220–212,[113] but not the evenly divided Senate amid opposition from Republicans.

[119] As of September 14, two suspects in the criminal investigation were detained at the LAPD Valley Jail awaiting trial on residential burglary charges.

[121] On April 21, 2024, a person broke a window and entered the Getty House, where Bass lived as Mayor of Los Angeles.