VP’S staff quitting over fear of being branded ‘Harris people’
A STAFFING exodus from Kamala Harris’s team has reportedly been driven in part by fears of being branded a “Harris person” ahead of the 2024 election.
The vice-president’s office has been beset by high-profile departures in recent weeks, capping off a disappointing year for Ms Harris who has seen her popularity decline sharply in office.
Panic has set in among Democrats, with Ms Harris, 31, polling well below Joe Biden, calling into question her position as the president’s successor should he not seek re-election.
It has led some staffers to quit out of fear they will be tarnished by association, in the event that a more promising candidate presents themselves in 2024, according to the website Axios.
One source referred to the feeling among staff as a concern of being permanently branded a “Harris person”.
Others have experienced burnout working at the White House or believe they can find better employment opportunities elsewhere.
One Democrat close to Ms Harris’s office told Axios that the departures were increasing pressure on Tina Fluornoy, the chief of staff. “If we mess this up, it’s going to set women back when it comes to running for higher office for years to come,” the operative said.
The most prominent staffing departures are those of Symone Sanders, the vice-president’s spokesman and most prominent public defender, and Ashley Etienne, her communications director. Two other senior staff, Peter Velz, director of press operations, and Vince Evans, the deputy director of Ms Harris’s office of public engagement, are also reportedly leaving their posts.
Ms Sanders’s friends insist her departure is not linked to the criticisms of the vice-president’s communications strategy. It is not unusual for senior staff to leave a year into a new administration, trading the cache of their White House titles for positions in the private sector.
It has fuelled concerns over Ms Harris’s political standing and led some Democrat strategists to openly speculate over alternative presidential candidates for the party. Mr Biden, 79, insists he will run for a second term, but many remain doubtful that he would, or could, serve into his 80s.
Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary and former 2020 candidate, has been fêted as a potential rival to Ms Harris for the Democratic nomination in 2024.