While you may have been hearing a lot about Joe Biden, you probably haven’t heard a lot about Vice President Kamala Harris. While she did make history becoming the first female president when Biden went under anesthesia for a routine procedure, she hasn’t been in the news much until recently. Kamala Harris has come under fire in the past months because of reports from inside her office claiming, “Harris has not been adequately prepared or positioned by the White House and instead is being sidelined.” These are only some of the latest reports coming out of her office, and they are having quite an impact on her staff. Two of Harris’s staff, Peter Velz (director of press operations) and Vincent Evans (deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs), both announced recently that they were leaving her office. Although Evans announced that she was leaving because she was named Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, when asked a month ago about staff leaving, Vice President Harris declined to answer. Many said that President Biden was putting too much pressure on Harris. In the first few months, Biden delegated many issues to Harris, such as the border crisis.
Another issue for both the President and Vice President have been their approval ratings. They both reached lows with Biden receiving 38 percent and Harris receiving a mere 28 percent. While a Vice President’s approval rating is usually lower than the President’s, one this low has rung alarm bells among her office. Some say the resignations in her office are to blame.
Kamala Harris was also a big part of President Biden’s removal of troops from Afghanistan. She claims that she was the last one in the room and complimented the President's decision-making and courage to pull troops from Afghanistan. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan backs her up by saying, “Biden insists she is in every core decision-making meeting. She weighs in during those meetings, often providing unique perspectives."
Harris also plays a unique role as President of the Senate. A former Senator herself, she now serves as the tiebreaker vote in the Senate. With it being split 50-50 along partisan lines, Harris has a tie-breaking vote when bills can escape the filibuster. She has already broken the record set by former Vice President Mike Pence for most tie-breaking by a vice president during the first year. The influx of bills is related to President Biden’s agenda and his Build Back Better campaign.
Being Vice President is a tough job and with Kamala Harris presumed as a presidential candidate, she has a lot of pressure to not have her name in the news in a negative way.
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