Post by Admin on Nov 20, 2021 21:44:38 GMT
What’s happening
After spending last week on a diplomatic trip to France, Vice President Kamala Harris returned home to a series of news reports that painted a worrying picture of her role in President Biden’s administration and raised questions about her potential to lead the Democratic Party in the future.
On Sunday, CNN published a story in which dozens of unnamed officials described an air of “exasperation and dysfunction” about the vice president’s job performance, along with accusations that she is being “sidelined” by the president. That same day, a report from Politico suggested she isn’t “scaring off” any prospective challengers for the Democratic nomination should Biden choose not to run for reelection. All this comes a week after the release of a poll showing Harris’s approval rating at just 28 percent. That poll was an outlier — others show her approval hovering around 40 percent — but she still consistently rates lower than Biden, who has seen his own popularity dip recently.
All vice presidents are important, but Biden’s choice of Harris as his running mate was especially significant. She’s the first woman and first person of color to hold the position. She’s also serving under the oldest president in history, who in the past has referred to himself as a “transition candidate,” making questions about who might succeed him particularly pointed.
As vice president, Harris has been tasked with taking the lead on two key issues for the administration: immigration and voting rights. She has also made some high-profile foreign trips, including her recent visit to France to help heal a diplomatic rift with one of America’s key allies. Harris pushed back on the perception that she’s being “underused” in the administration during an interview Thursday. “We’re getting things done, and we’re doing it together,” she said. White House chief of staff Ron Klain and press secretary Jen Psaki have made similar statements in recent days.
After spending last week on a diplomatic trip to France, Vice President Kamala Harris returned home to a series of news reports that painted a worrying picture of her role in President Biden’s administration and raised questions about her potential to lead the Democratic Party in the future.
On Sunday, CNN published a story in which dozens of unnamed officials described an air of “exasperation and dysfunction” about the vice president’s job performance, along with accusations that she is being “sidelined” by the president. That same day, a report from Politico suggested she isn’t “scaring off” any prospective challengers for the Democratic nomination should Biden choose not to run for reelection. All this comes a week after the release of a poll showing Harris’s approval rating at just 28 percent. That poll was an outlier — others show her approval hovering around 40 percent — but she still consistently rates lower than Biden, who has seen his own popularity dip recently.
All vice presidents are important, but Biden’s choice of Harris as his running mate was especially significant. She’s the first woman and first person of color to hold the position. She’s also serving under the oldest president in history, who in the past has referred to himself as a “transition candidate,” making questions about who might succeed him particularly pointed.
As vice president, Harris has been tasked with taking the lead on two key issues for the administration: immigration and voting rights. She has also made some high-profile foreign trips, including her recent visit to France to help heal a diplomatic rift with one of America’s key allies. Harris pushed back on the perception that she’s being “underused” in the administration during an interview Thursday. “We’re getting things done, and we’re doing it together,” she said. White House chief of staff Ron Klain and press secretary Jen Psaki have made similar statements in recent days.