THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Harris's allies wonder anxiously: Will she have real clout?

Harris's allies wonder anxiously: Will she have real clout?

When Kamala Harris stepped onstage for the first time as vice president-elect recently, she spoke emotionally of "Black women, who are often - too often - overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy."

But while Black activists remain excited about Harris's ascent, many now worry that the administration will not deliver much beyond her historic election - a fear sharpened by Democrats' disappointing performance in congressional races, which has dramatically limited Biden's maneuvering room.

Their worries are underlined by the ongoing uncertainty over what exactly Harris's portfolio will be in the Biden administration, and how much freedom she will have to chart her own course on issues like racial justice and immigration. 

"I really want her to be a transformative leader. I don't want her to be transactional," said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. "What I am hoping is she becomes the lightning rod."

Brown conceded that will be a challenge amid emerging signs that President-elect Joe Biden's longtime advisers will hold an array of influential positions in his administration. "The entire political landscape has been dominated by White, male-centered power," Brown said. "I certainly think there's going to be a strain within the administration. I think there's going to be a strain within government."

All indications are that Harris and Biden are cementing a strong personal relationship. They talk frequently, most often through phone calls and text messages, according to a person familiar with the dynamic, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private interactions. Their connection is built partly on a shared belief in the importance of family, this person said, and on Harris's friendship with Biden's late son Beau, who served with Harris when both were state attorneys general.

But it is far from clear how that personal relationship will translate to official roles. Biden has not announced a portfolio for Harris, the way Biden handled the economic stimulus for Obama, and Harris's allies are watching anxiously to see if she will be allowed to choose her top staffers or if Biden loyalists will be installed.

Many Black activists are not waiting to find out. Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Movement for Black Lives, has written a letter on the group's behalf to Biden and Harris requesting a meeting to convey their demands.

"Black people won this election," Cullors wrote. "Alongside Black-led organizations around the nation, Black Lives Matter invested heavily in this election. ... We want something for our vote. We want to be heard and our agenda to be prioritized."

Not everyone agrees. Some Democrats argue that while Black voters were crucial to Biden's win, his ability to attract White centrists - who often vote Republican - was equally important. That's sparked tensions within the party.

Cullors said she had not received a response to her letter. "The fact that we have to ask for a seat at the table, after the way we showed up, shows that Democrats have a lot of work to do when it comes to rewarding and listening to the Black folks that made this victory possible," she said.

Another complication is that some of Biden's powerful African American backers, such as Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., are also forceful critics of the most far-reaching demands of Black Lives Matter protesters, such as calls to "defund the police."

All of this has created a swirl of often-conflicting hopes, pressures and expectations around Harris, 56, who will be a vice president like no other.

As a youthful woman of color and daughter of immigrants, she represents an increasingly diverse, liberal Democratic Party - while serving a president who reflects an older, whiter, more centrist America.

In addition, many Democrats are unsure whether the 77-year-old Biden will - or should - seek a second term in 2024. That makes Harris a possible successor and a source of excitement as potentially the first female president, but Biden's team will want her to focus loyally on his agenda and not her own political future. 

Few of these complications have manifested themselves publicly yet, a little over a week after Biden and Harris declared victory in an election their opponent has yet to concede. 

Biden has already given Harris unusual prominence. She spoke before him on the night he declared victory - an event usually dedicated solely to highlighting the president-elect. Harris also addressed reporters during a joint event Tuesday on the importance of the Affordable Care Act, and she has participated in internal briefings all week.

Harris's personal relationship with Biden has been up-and-down. He initially felt close to her because of her friendship with Beau, but when she attacked his record on racial issues at a June 2019 Democratic debate, he and his family felt betrayed. 

When Biden was looking for a running mate, he was facing pressure to choose a Black woman - leaving it unclear whether the decision to pick Harris was driven more by confidence or political necessity. But since then, Harris has worked tirelessly for his candidacy, serving as an ambassador of sorts to the Black community, and by all accounts their relationship has solidified.

A spokeswoman for Harris said it is too early to know what influence she will have in the administration or what her portfolio might include, and her own comments on the subject have been vague. "I will strive to be a vice president like Joe was to President Obama - loyal, honest and prepared, waking up every day thinking of you and your family," she said in her victory speech.

Some Black activists hope that Harris, a former California attorney general, will focus on racial inequities in the criminal justice system. In the 2 1/2 months she spent campaigning for the Biden-Harris ticket, she made repeated trips to cities - Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Detroit - where turnout from Black voters contributed to Biden's victory.

"I think Joe Biden will be very wise to have Vice President-elect Harris have a say in all of his major decisions," said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has represented the families of victims of police violence including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. 

Rashad Robinson, spokesman for the Color of Change PAC, said he "absolutely sees Harris as an ally." Both he and Crump said they have been in touch with Biden's transition team and have urged it to stress diversity in the administration.

But the prospect of Harris carving out her own identity within the administration would be a departure from the traditional role of the vice president as a low-profile servant of the president, one without a separate agenda.

Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pa., who campaigned alongside Harris in the final stretch and is in touch with Biden, predicted she would play a "vital role," but one that fits the traditional mold of 21st-century presidencies. 

"I think the job of the presidency in the modern era has gotten so much more complicated and even more difficult than it was years ago," Casey said in an interview. "Presidents have had to offload responsibility on the vice president. ... I would expect that model or that relationship to continue."

Those who have different hopes for Harris argue that these are not traditional times and she is not a traditional figure. Recent vice presidents - including Biden, Dick Cheney and Vice President Mike Pence - were all chosen by inexperienced presidents to reassure voters they would govern with competence and, in Trump's case, ideological consistency. 

Many Democrats are also say Biden's diversity efforts should go far beyond Harris. They are pushing for a Black woman to serve as attorney general, for example, and for figures like Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a top Biden ally, to get senior White House roles.

Biden has promised that his government will look like the country, but for now he relies on a small clutch of mostly White, male advisers who have long been at his side. Ronald Klain was recently named his chief of staff, and advisers Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon are seen in Biden's orbit as likely to receive high-level White House posts. 

Still, civil rights leaders say Biden's aides have reached out to consult on potential appointees. "The transition team has been in touch and we have had conversations about our suggestions," said Robinson, declining to provide details of names he and others are advocating.

Others said they were cautiously optimistic. Aimee Allison, head of the organization She the People, said Harris has reached out to Black women on social media and elsewhere in an unprecedented way. "I've never experienced that as a Black woman in my lifetime, and I think anyone's lifetime," she said. 

Allison also praised the work of two female Black advisers to Biden's transition team, the Rev. Leah Daughtry, former CEO of the Democratic National Convention, and longtime Democratic strategist Minyon Moore. 

Longtime White House watchers say a critical question is whether Harris is allowed to assemble her own senior staff. During her presidential run, disagreements among Harris's aides sometimes spilled into public view, prompting concerns in the party about her abilities to manage such a team. 

But after dropping out of the primaries, Harris slimmed down her operation as she competed to be Biden's running mate. When she joined the ticket, her longtime aide Rohini Kosoglu helped run her campaign.

One of Harris's closest allies is her sister Maya, who co-chaired her presidential campaign, served as a policy adviser to Hillary Clinton's presidential effort and has deep ties in Black activists circles. 

When Harris was running for president, Maya often served as an emissary to activists concerned that Harris's background as a prosecutor meant she would not support needed reforms to the criminal justice system. It remains unclear if Maya Harris will reprise that role, or any role, in the Biden administration. 

As Biden was contemplating whom to choose as his running mate earlier this year, his inner circle was split over Harris. Some worried she would seize any opportunity to advance her own career, citing her attack on Biden's record on race during the Democratic primary.

Others disagreed, arguing that Harris had invaluable experience in the glare of the national spotlight and would serve Biden well. Now that the administration is taking shape, there are at least small signs that the two have forged a comfortable relationship.

Biden often described his goal of finding a running mate with whom he was "simpatico," citing his closeness with Obama, whom he publicly called "Barack." He is already in the habit of referring to Harris as "Kamala."

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