And those improvements are acknowledged by the people in her office and they are acknowledged by the people in the White House,” said a Democratic strategist with ties to Bidenworld. “There are definitely some improvements that are widely acknowledged that need to be made in that office. Among them, there is a growing sense of frustration over what is viewed as over-torqued critiques that feed a doomsday assessment of her standing and political future. Harris’ allies also view it as an opportunity for her to embrace a more active role in shaping her coverage. The vice president’s team declined to comment on what specifically has changed since Voles and Frankel, a former Barack Obama speechwriter, joined the office, but officials acknowledged they were handling long-term planning and organizational development.ĭemocratic strategists and people closely aligned with both Harris and Biden view the pending reshaping of the office as an important moment for the White House, one where they can plot out how to better deploy a historic figure in the vice president role.Īnd with the departures of Sanders and Etienne, who are both Black, there’s also been renewed focus among Democrats to continue to push for more diversity in major jobs and across the Biden administration moving forward. They have shared little about any internal changes, but a person close to Harris described Voles as “a calming influence” who has streamlined bottlenecks. The Biden administration over the summer had already brought in a pair of fixers - Lorraine Voles and Adam Frankel - to assess the vice president’s operation and institute changes. “If she’s not allowed to select her own people or have a lot of say in picking her own people, she’s f-ed,” a longtime Harris confidant told POLITICO, arguing she needs loyalists who also maintain support and trust within Biden’s inner circle. There is fear among some confidants that if she is not more centrally involved in hiring at her office, a frustrating first year could become a more painful second one. Aware of the grumbling, top Harris allies are defending her leadership skills, while characterizing the withdrawals as part of the usual burnout that comes from working in a pressure-cooker environment. The shakeup among Harris’ staff has led to speculation about how she and her top aides have managed the office, as well as her own capacity as a boss. And I think that this is an opportunity like she’s done with throughout her career to find people who are able to take their seats at the table because guess what? There’s something new on the menu.” “In every stage of life, there were people she could bring with her and then there were people that she had to pick up along the way because of the new responsibilities. “Every opportunity that you get in politics to renew and repurpose is a good opportunity,” Brazile said in an interview. But she said the new vacancies give Harris a chance to reassess. More aides in Harris’ office have expressed interest in leaving, according to people familiar with those conversations.ĭonna Brazile, a veteran Democratic strategist close to the White House and vice president’s office, stressed that turnover at this level of government isn’t surprising - especially in the case of Sanders, one of the first people President Joe Biden hired when he ran for president. But they are part of a wave that could grow larger as staff inside the vice president’s office review other opportunities. Officials maintain those departures were long-planned and not evidence of the turmoil. They include the high-profile exit by one of Harris’ closest aides, Symone Sanders, who serves as senior adviser and chief spokesperson, as well as Ashley Etienne, the office’s communications director. But behind the scenes, advisers have spent weeks researching possible replacements for important posts and feeling out others who passed on roles in the office earlier this year, to see if they would be more amenable to joining in a second round.įour staffers have announced their departures from the vice president’s office in recent weeks. Harris sidestepped questions about the staff turnover and potential for a reset when asked about it by POLITICO, and her office declined to comment for this story.
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