WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris spent her first two weeks in office with the president on coronavirus control, in consultation with the head of the World Health Organization and in talks with the Prime Minister of Canada.
However, it’s her interview with a local West Virginia news station that is getting more attention – and not in a good way.
West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate whose support is critical to the success of President Joe Biden’s agenda in Congress, did not kindly take the vice president’s attempt to put public pressure on him in his home state pushing for the approval of a $ 1.9 trillion virus relief package, especially when he had no warning that it was coming.
‘I could not believe it. Nobody called me, ”Manchin said later on the same TV channel. ‘We are going to try to find a two-pronged way forward, I think that is necessary. But we have to work together. That is not a way of working together. “
Manchin’s criticisms surfaced in the White House briefing room and even made it into chatter on the daytime talk show “The View” on ABC and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS.
The flap was an early signal of some of the problems Harris faces as she settles down and tries to establish her position within the White House.
“It’s a challenge for Harris to figure out what her role is, what her specialty is in this White House,” said longtime Democratic strategist Joel Payne.
Harris also misrepresented some of the details in her West Virginia interview, referring to “abandoned land mines” rather than “abandoned mines” in coal countries.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked twice during Monday’s briefing about Harris and her comments in West Virginia, offering little insight into how the interview came about, saying only that “our focus is on the communication with the American people “about the coronavirus relief law.
And by Tuesday, Manchin himself tried to break the controversy by telling reporters that it was just a “mistake” and that “no apologies were needed.”
In addition to the television appearance in West Virginia, Harris also interviewed the editorial board of the state’s largest newspaper, as well as a newspaper and a local television station in Arizona, putting pressure on that state’s Democratic senators – two moderates whose support was Biden will also have to pass on its COVID-19 package.
While Harris’s overall role remains undefined, she and Biden both often said during the transition that she would be the “last voice in the room” on major decisions, much like Biden was for President Barack Obama. In fact, Harris would consider Biden’s vice-chairmanship a model for herself.
Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders noted that Harris has “worked closely” with Biden and “attended almost every briefing, meeting and event” with him.
Harris has contacted members of both parties on Capitol Hill and has called mayors and governors to pitch the COVID-19 package. She has also spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Director General of the World Health Organization, and held a roundtable with small business owners to discuss coronavirus relief.
Twelve years ago, Biden and Obama took office, representing vastly different generations and different approaches to politics and policy. They eventually became good friends, and Obama entrusted Biden with the implementation of the 2009 Recovery Act to revitalize the economy and the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Harris’s chief of staff during her time as attorney general in California, Nathan Barankin, predicted that her ability to connect with others would make her a convincing surrogate for Biden if she were able to interact with the public.
“This is a constant in any briefing or interaction you have with Kamala Harris about policy 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 and South Asian woman to serve as vice president offers her new opportunities, it could also pose complications.
“Challenges have been seen and unseen for the first black woman in this position to argue with. She will constantly have to ask herself: Would a previous vice president be criticized in this way? ” he said.
Even as Harris aides say she will be a pivotal player in the government’s efforts to sell the COVID-19 package to the public and on Capitol Hill, where she served as a senator for the first term until earlier this month, Biden’s own more and deeper relationships with many senators are key to passage of the bill. And he might be a more popular figure in some of those senatorial states than Harris, who was seen as more progressive than Biden during the primary.
If, in an evenly divided Senate, the Democrats decide to push ahead with their COVID-19 bill through a budget maneuver requiring only majority support, Manchin is key to the Democrats’ chances of success.
Indeed, the White House contacted Manchin after word came in that he was not satisfied. And prior to the interview, Biden had done his own telephone outreach to Manchin as the two have remained friendly since their time in the Senate.
Even after the interview, Harris’ aides said she was calling lawmakers to advocate for the bill and hear their concerns. She is expected to continue pushing for the legislation in public interviews and other events.
They also say she will be particularly concerned with reaching out to the black community on both the bill and the COVID-19 vaccine, with the aim of overcoming skepticism surrounding vaccinations within colored communities.
While Manchin’s vote will be required to secure a tie on the aid package, Harris, as the Senate President, would cast the tie-breaking vote in the event of a 50-50 split on the bill, or other significant pieces of legislation in the future. It is certainly the responsibility to keep Harris close to the Capitol when large bills are voted on.
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 looks for “ creative ” ways to sell the aid package, such as town halls and targeted job interviews .
Historian Joel Goldstein noted that the ability to cast that tie-breaking vote is a significant opportunity, one that could define Harris’s vice presidency well beyond the end of her first term or any early gaffes she got on TV. could make.
“To the extent that she has to break the votes, she will be able to take credit for taking actions that are important to democratic constituencies,” he said.