WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris has spent her first two weeks in office working with the president for coronavirus relief, consulting with the head of the World Health Organization and speaking with the Prime Minister of Canada .
However, it is his interview with a local West Virginia news station that is getting more attention and not in a good way.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate whose support is critical to the success of President Joe Biden’s agenda in Congress, was unkind to the vice president’s effort to pressure him. instant home status on the way to a $ 1.9 trillion Virus Relief Package, especially when I had no warning that it would arrive.
“I could not believe it. Nobody called me, ”Manchin later told the same television station. “We will try to find a way to bipartisanship forward, I think it is necessary. But we have to work together. It’s not a way to work together. “
Manchin’s criticism has appeared in the White House meeting room and has even turned her into a talk show on the daytime show “The View” on ABC and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS.
The flap was a first sign of some of the problems Harris faces when he settles in and tries to define his position within the White House.
“Harris has a challenge when it comes to figuring out what his role is, what his specialty is in this White House,” said Joel Payne, a longtime Democrat strategist.
Harris also spoke ill of some details in his interview in West Virginia, referring to “abandoned landmines” rather than “abandoned mining lands” in the coal country.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked twice about Harris and his West Virginia remarks during Monday’s briefing and offered little insight into how the interview came about, saying only that “the our approach is to communicate with the “American people” about the coronavirus aid bill.
And on Tuesday, Manchin himself sought to overcome the controversy and told reporters that it was just a “mistake” and that “no apologies were needed.”
In addition to appearing on West Virginia television, Harris also conducted interviews with the editorial board of the state’s largest newspaper, as well as a newspaper and a local Arizona television network, pressuring Democratic senators. of this state, two moderates with the support of Biden. you must also pass the COVID-19 package.
While Harris’ overall role remains undefined, both she and Biden often said during the transition that she would be the “last voice in the room” in big decisions, just as Biden was for the president. Barack Obama. In fact, Harris is said to consider Biden’s vice presidency as his own model.
Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders noted that Harris has been working “closely” with Biden and “has attended almost every meeting, gathering and event” with him.
Harris has been contacting members of both parties on Capitol Hill and has called on mayors and governors to present the COVID-19 package. He also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and held a roundtable discussion with small business owners to discuss coronavirus help.
Twelve years ago, Biden and Obama took office representing very different generations and different approaches to politics and politics. They eventually became good friends and Obama entrusted Biden with the implementation of the 2009 recovery law to revive the economy and withdraw American troops from Iraq.
Harris’ chief of staff during his time as California Attorney General Nathan Barankin predicted that his ability to connect with others would make him a compelling replacement for Biden if he is able to relate to the public.
“This is a constant, in every briefing or interaction you have with Kamala Harris about political decisions. And that is, how does this affect real people?” He said.
Payne, who is black, said that while Harris’ historic position as the first black, South Asian woman to serve as vice president offers her new opportunities, it can also present complications.
“There are seen and unseen challenges for the first black woman in this position she is struggling with. The question must constantly be asked: Would a former vice president be criticized in this way? ”. He said.
Although Harris’ aides say he will be a central player in the administration’s efforts to sell the COVID-19 package to the public and on Capitol Hill, where she served as a first-term senator until earlier this month. , Biden himself has more in-depth relationships with many key senators for the passage of the bill. And he may be a more popular figure in some of these senator states than Harris, who was considered more progressive than Biden during the primaries.
In a uniformly divided Senate, if Democrats decide to pass their COVID-19 bill through a budget maneuver that would only need the support of the majority to pass it, Manchin is the key to the Democrats ’chances of success.
In fact, the White House contacted Manchin after he was told he was upset. And before the interview, Biden had made his own broadcast to Manchin over the phone, as the two remain friendly since his time in the Senate.
Even after the interview, Harris’ aides said he was calling on lawmakers to defend the bill and listen to their concerns. He is expected to continue to push for legislation in public interviews and other events.
They also say he will be especially involved in spreading the black community in both the bill and the COVID-19 vaccine, with the goal of overcoming skepticism around vaccinations within communities of color.
While it will take Manchin’s vote to get a tie in the relief package, Harris, as president of the Senate, would deliver the tiebreaker vote in the event of splitting the bill or other major legislative provisions between 50 and 50 in the future. The responsibility is sure to keep Harris close to the Capitol when major bills are about to vote.
For now, the White House has said it avoids travel anyway, in line with the recommendations of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and instead is looking for “creative” ways to sell the aid package. , such as town halls and specific destinations. interviews.
Historian Joel Goldstein noted that the ability to cast that tiebreaker vote is a significant opportunity, which could define Harris ’vice presidency far beyond the end of his first term or any initial innuendo he might make on television.
“To the extent that you have to break the ties, you will be able to claim credit for taking actions that are important to democratic constituencies,” he said.