Vice President Kamala Harris insisted Thursday that she does not think she’s being underused by President Joe Biden.
What You Need To Know
- Vice President Kamala Harris insisted Thursday that she does not think she’s being underused by President Joe Biden
- Harris told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America" that “I'm very, very excited about the work that we have accomplished"
- Last weekend, CNN reported that there is tension between Harris’ office and the West Wing and that many in Harris’ circle are frustrated because they don’t believe the vice president is being adequately utilized
- When asked by Stephanopoulos if she and Biden have discussed whether she would again be his running mate if he runs for reelection in 2024, Harris answered, “Absolutely not"
“I'm very, very excited about the work that we have accomplished, but I am also absolutely, absolutely clear-eyed that there is a lot more to do, and we're going to get it done,” Harris told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America.”
Last weekend, CNN reported that there is tension between Harris’ office and the West Wing. Many in Harris’ circle are frustrated because they don’t believe the vice president is being adequately utilized, and instead sidelined, the report said.
Harris denied that she is frustrated by her role and sought to focus on the work the administration, with her help, has been doing.
“This was a good week,” she said. “And this week, when we got this bipartisan infrastructure act passed and signed by the president, makes a statement about all of the hard work that has gone into it.
“Month after month after month, I've traveled around the country, as has the president. We have convened members of Congress, we have convened people around our nation, asking, ‘What do you want?’, and this is a response to what they want. And it's actually going to hit the ground in a way that is going to have a direct impact on the American people.
“We're getting things done and we're doing it together,” Harris said.
The CNN report also said the West Wing is exasperated by what it views as dysfunction and a lack of focus by the vice president and her staff.
However, White Press secretary Jen Psaki came to Harris’ defense, tweeting Sunday night: “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.”
When asked by Stephanopoulos if she and Biden have discussed whether she would again be his running mate if he runs for reelection in 2024, Harris answered, “Absolutely not.” The vice president said her conversations with Biden have instead focused on the business of the day.
Biden and Harris have both seen their poll numbers plummet, as the nation deals with rising inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic lingers on. An ABC News-Washington Post poll released Sunday found that Biden has a 41% approval rating, down from 52% in April. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll last week showed Harris with just a 28% approval rating.
“Polls, they go up, they go down, but I think what is most important is that we remain consistent with what we need to do to deal with the issues that we're presented with at this moment,” Harris said Thursday, pointing, again, to the infrastructure bill signed into law Monday.
“Some of the stuff you'll see in the next few months, and some of this you're going to see in the next perhaps couple of years," she said.