West Wing aides came to the defense of Vice President Harris following publication of a CNN report that detailed frustrations among the vice president’s team and more broadly among White House officials about her role in the administration.
“For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country — from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted late Sunday.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield shared Psaki’s post on Monday morning, and White House chief of staff Ron Klain amplified multiple messages on Twitter supportive of Harris.
“Our @VP Kamala Harris just finished a highly successful trip where she strengthened diplomatic relationships,” Long Beach City Mayor Robert Garcia (D) tweeted in a message retweeted by Klain.”She takes on the most complex assignments because she’s capable and smart. She’s a great leader who also happens to be funny and kind. And that’s the tweet.”
Several Harris officials also pushed back against the CNN report without citing it directly, offering praise for their boss and criticizing efforts to shift the focus from her recently completed trip to Paris.
CNN in a report published Sunday night detailed frustration within Harris’s circle that she is not being put in a position to succeed, citing conversations with numerous Democratic operatives and White House officials. The report also stated some West Wing aides have been at times dismissive of Harris’s issues and have been exasperated by dysfunction in the vice president’s office.
Harris’s presidential campaign was plagued by staffing issues, and multiple reports have indicated that has carried over to her time as vice president. At least two advance press staffers who are responsible for planning logistics for travel left within months of Harris and Biden taking office.
Harris has been tasked by Biden with leading on a number of long-standing and largely intractable issues. Biden said she would lead efforts to address root causes of migration in Central America, which effectively made her the face of record numbers of migrants crossing the southern U.S. border.
And Harris is leading the administration’s push on voting rights, something she asked to do, but Congress has failed to pass any legislation on the issue and a breakthrough does not appear imminent.