'Maybe She Shouldn't Be Heir Apparent': Harris Reportedly in WH, Dem Crosshairs Amid Staff Backlash

Earlier in the week, Politico ran a story featuring multiple complaints from inside the offices of the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, as unnamed staffers accused her and her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, of mistreating the team and creating an unhealthy work environment.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is facing doubts from some White House officials and fellow Democrats as the buzz around allegations of her mistreatment of staffers continues to escalate, Axios reported on Friday.

Claims of an unhealthy working environment in the vice-president's offices made in a Thursday Politico report sparked concern in the White House and among Democrats, according to Axios, with some questioning Harris' presumptive presidential bid in the event of Biden not running in 2024.

According to one unnamed Democratic operative, cited by Axios, some Democrats aren't thinking "'Oh, no, our heir apparent is f***ing up, what are we gonna do?’ It's more that people think, 'Oh, she’s f***ing up, maybe she shouldn't be the heir apparent.'"

Other unnamed Democrats in the White House are reported to be concerned about Harris' performance, particularly with high-profile issues such as a migrant crisis and voting rights, casting doubt on whether she is capable of maintaining the coalition that Biden rode into the White House.

The concerns were apparently fueled by a series of unflattering comments about the work environment within the vice-president's offices, and Flournoy specifically, that emerged in a Politico report published earlier in the week. Some Harris staffers, none of whom disclosed their names, said that the office was a "place where people feel treated like s**t", and Flournoy would ignore or harshly dismiss ideas and drag out decisions. The vice president was also accused of being responsible for the difficulties.

Opinions on the operation of the Harris office appear to differ, however, as, according to Axios, many administration officials refer to the office as "poorly-managed" and a "s**tshow" when contrasting between her team and that of Biden's.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks after a meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the ongoing attacks and threats against the community," during a stop at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, US, March 19, 2021

© REUTERS / CARLOS BARRIA

Prominent American political figures, including top White House officials, have defended the Harris office, suggesting that claims of employee mistreatment are an attempt to "sabotage" Harris.

"The president's trust and confidence in her is obvious when you see them in the Oval Office together", Axios quoted a statement by White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who suggested that Harris and her team are "off to the fastest and strongest start of any vice president I have seen."

Klain also praised the results of the work of Harris and her office, that, he suggested, "speak for themselves", including "a decline of border arrivals from the Northern Triangle, improved vaccine equity, and increased economic opportunities for women."

A Biden senior adviser, Cedric Richmond, suggested in an interview that the criticism of Harris and her office work environment is "a whisper campaign designed to sabotage her." He also argued that it would be unfair to compare the team of a vice president and a commander-in-chief.

"You can’t hold the vice president's team to that standard," Richmond said. "But I think they’re good, I think they’re busting their tails and I think the VP is executing all her assignments and taking on her issues", Richmond said, cited by Axios.

Richmond additionally cast doubt on the authenticity of the unflattering claims, pointing at how not one purported critic disclosed their name.

 "At some point it just becomes, one person says something long enough and it becomes an urban legend. It doesn’t have to be credible. It doesn’t have to be real. Someone says something and it can just snowball", Richmond explained. "Not one named person. That’s what bothers me most. We’re in a day where the stakes are high. You’d just hope if there’s a legitimate criticism they’d put their name next to it."

Neither US VP Kamala Harris nor any of her team have publicly commented on the stories.