Politics
Kamala’s Staff is Imploding After Reports of Low Morale and Internal Tensions
Vice President Kamala Harris has to handle intense scrutiny due to her handling of the border crisis. Meanwhile, Harris' staff members are reportedly experiencing low morale while struggling to communicate with higher officials.
It seems communication issues and distrust exist among aides and senior officials in Harris’ team. Her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, is also reportedly involved. It helped create a “tense and at times dour office atmosphere,” according to a Politico report that cited interviews with 22 current and former aides.
Most of the scrutiny connected to this was aimed at Flournoy. Aides said she had limited access to Harris. She also had contributed to a culture where the ideas of the staff members are either ignored or harshly dismissed. Decisions also seem to always be dragged out.
These internal issues were seemingly exemplified during the vice president’s recent border trip. Some of Harris’ aides and Biden administration officials, including people responsible for logistics, were “left scrambling” by her sudden decision to travel to El Paso.
According to Politico, two current administration officials mentioned that Harris had some responsibility connected to the issues within her team.
One person who knows operations at Harris’ office described as an “abusive environment” to the news outlet. The person added that the office is “not healthy” and that “people often feel mistreated” instead of being supported.
Kamala Harris' Staff Reportedly Experiences Low Morale and Tension Due to Bad Work Culture
However, Symone Sanders, the vice president’s spokesperson, pushed back on these allegations of internal discord among Harris’ staff.
Sanders said that they’re not “making rainbows and bunnies all day,” and instead, people simply have hard jobs. “We have created a culture where people, if there is anything anyone would like to raise, there are avenues for them to do so. Whoever has something they would like to raise, they should raise it directly.”
Harris’ office did not release a response to a request for further comment.
A CNBC report echoed concerns over the way Flournoy leads the vice president’s staff. The news outlet reported that Flournoy had “effectively shut out” a few of Harris’ political and business allies, including top donors.
Because of this, some allies are reportedly unable to reach Harris for both personal and political calls, according to those familiar with the matter.
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