Harris charts her own course as vice-president amid intense scrutiny

Earlier this month, Kamala Harris convened the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council, an important summit that brought together cabinet secretaries and top space and military officials in the sun-drenched atrium of the US Institute of Peace. Over the course of nearly two hours, the vice-president engaged the panel in discussion with real, earthly implications for national security, the climate crisis and workforce development.

But attention in Washington was diverted elsewhere. At the supreme court, the justices were weighing the future of abortion rights. Republicans in Congress were threatening a government shutdown over their opposition to Covid-19 mask mandates. And as Harris spoke, public health experts confirmed the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the US.

She is a frequent target of attacks from conservative media outlets, where some pundits still willfully mispronounce her first name. But she has also come under pressure from activists frustrated by the slow pace of progress on issues like immigration and voting rights. And the recent departures of high-profile aides from her office have renewed scrutiny of her management style.

In the churn, Harris has struggled to chart her own course in a position that can be simultaneously forgettable and highly visible.

Some stories are harder to dismiss. Stories about staff dysfunction have dogged Harris throughout her nearly two decades in elected office, from San Francisco district attorney to the US Senate to her 2020 presidential campaign, which fell apart amid reports of internal discord.

Allies see overtones of sexism and racism in the coverage of Harris. They say the portrait of her as an overbearing boss is a trope used to diminish women in politics, and that male politicians are rarely subject to the same level of scrutiny over their leadership style. And former aides have come to her defense, saying she is demanding but not unfair.

But critics say Harris stands apart. She burns through staffers who have a high tolerance for difficult work environments under both male and female bosses. They point to the high turnover in her office and the lack of longtime aides by her side, a sharp contrast with Biden, who is surrounded by advisers who have been with him for decades.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Picking the Vice President, says the concern is misguided.

Activists have spent months pressuring Biden and Harris to use their bully pulpit more aggressively to push for voting rights legislation. A pair of voting rights bills are stalled in the Senate, where Republicans have used the filibuster to block the measures on four separate occasions.

A recent meeting with Harris left leading voting rights advocates frustrated and alarmed that the White House did not have a strategy to pass federal voting rights legislation as Republicans roll back access to the ballot box in state legislatures across the country and enact new electoral maps designed to benefit them politically.

But Harris has worked to strengthen those relationships with her former colleagues. Earlier this year, she invited all 24 female senators for dinner at her residence. And during the fraught, final negotiations over the infrastructure law, she huddled with Biden at the White House, making late-night calls to members of Congress that helped seal the deal.

On 19 November, Harris became the first woman in American history to hold presidential powers. The brief transfer of power occurred from 10:10 am to 11:35 am EST, while Biden was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. Harris spent the time working from her office in the West Wing and most would agree her stint in the role of president left the glass ceiling largely intact.

Yet for her supporters, the moment was a glimpse of a future they still believe to be possible.

History has shown that the best path forward for a vice president with higher ambitions is to ensure the success of the president, said Kamarck.