WASHINGTON (AP) – With that of Donald Trump return to the White House in a few days, Kamala Harris Staff gathered in her ceremonial office to watch her sign the office, a tradition practiced by her predecessors for decades. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, stood behind her to take a photo as she held up her Sharpie marker.
“It’s not in my nature to go quietly into the night,” Harris said Thursday. “Then don’t worry about it.”
But what’s next for her?
“I’ll keep you posted,” she said.
Harris has nothing planned after leaving office Monday other than returning home to California. It will be the first time since 2004, when she became San Francisco’s district attorney, that she has not held elected office.
There are rumors that she will write a book and speculation that she might run again for governor or perhaps president. At 60, Harris is still young in a political world where the last two presidents set records as the oldest ever elected.
Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic Party leader, remembers telling Harris that she needed to take a break and “learn what it’s like to sleep too much” for a while. They both laughed and Brazile said, “Yeah, you’ll never go back to ordinary.”
Brazile was campaign manager for Al Gore, the last sitting vice president to seek the top job.
“I’ve had more people call me wanting to know what’s next for Kamala Harris than asking what’s next for Al Gore,” she said.
Harris’ tenure was both ordinary and extraordinary. Like many of her predecessors, she spent her time dealing with a portfolio of issues: migration, right to abortion And maternal health among them – and represent the country abroad. Sometimes she had difficulty distinguishing himselfa common challenge in a job that carries few constitutional responsibilities.
But Harris also made history as the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. And last year, Harris found himself thrust into an unprecedented situation when President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid and approved her as his successor.
Only 107 days of campaigning remained, leaving Harris in office. a sprint for the presidency. She instantly reset race terms against Trump, who is almost twenty years older than her, but who was unable to defeat him.
Many Democrats blamed Biden for running in the first place and putting Harris in an impossible position. Harris has also faced her own criticism.
Some said she should have sent a more populist message instead of focusing on Trump’s anti-democratic threats by campaigning with Liz Cheneya former Republican congresswoman. She also failed to separate from Bidenwho remains deeply unpopular with the voters.
Minyon Moore, who chaired last year’s Democratic National Convention, downplayed the criticism, saying “if, I would, I could, I should.”
With Harris facing such an unusual campaign, Moore said, “there was no road map for what she should have done.”
Harris did not answer questions about her defeat nor did she share her own views on the election. His public remarks were limited to rallying cries for students and others who are disappointed by Trump’s victory, especially after Democrats portrayed him as an existential threat to the country.
“No one can get away with it,” Harris said in a speech. “We have to stay in the fight. Each of us.
Harris hoped to end his term with a world tour in Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, a last opportunity to show its role in foreign policy. But she decided to stay in Washington as wildfires spread around Los Angeles. His own home, in the Brentwood neighborhood, is in an evacuation zone.
Harris did not travel to the area because she feared diverting local resources from responding to the fire, according to an official in her office who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss her planning.
Despite canceling her overseas trip, Harris expressed interest in remaining involved on the world stage. During her final week in office, she spent time calling foreign leaders, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo.
On Wednesday, she was in the Oval Office to watch Biden give his farewell speech. He described her as “a great partner” and they embraced after the speech.
Biden chose Harris as his running mate after his first presidential campaign ended four years ago. After taking office, his schedule was limited by the coronavirus pandemic and his obligations at the Capitol. With the U.S. Senate evenly divided, she has often been called upon to vote to break a tie, set a record as she helped advance judicial nominees and landmark legislation.
“She had to find her role,” said Joel Goldstein, a historian who has studied the vice presidency. “It took a while to figure it out.”
Moore recalls an Oval Office meeting with Harris and other senior advisers as Biden deliberated over who to nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court. While it’s unlikely a liberal justice would have many opportunities to express majority opinions on a court dominated by conservatives, Moore said Harris was focused on which nominee would exploit the platform to issue dissenting opinions.
Harris wanted “someone who could think through the nuances of writing these dissents,” Moore said. Biden named Ketanji Brown Jacksonfulfilling her promise to put a black woman on the bench, and she often attracted attention for her strong dissenting views.
One of Harris’ original tasks, reducing immigration from Central America, has become a political burden. Republicans described her as the “border czar” and blamed her for illegal crossings. However, fewer migrants came from countries where Harris focused his efforts.
She met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich shortly before the Russian invasion began three years ago, and she spent a week in Africa to lay the foundations for renewed U.S. engagement.
Harris too traveled to Southeast Asia three times as the administration attempted to reorient its foreign policy to confront China’s influence.
“She felt like we could put even more emphasis on this sometimes neglected part of the world,” said Phil Gordon, Harris’ national security adviser.
Abortion rights became a defining issue for Harris after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Biden was more hesitant on the subject, and Harris began to headline the White House’s efforts.
Lorraine Voles, Harris’ chief of staff, said the court’s decision was “a turning point” for the vice president.
“It opened up a path for him in a way that maybe hadn’t existed before,” she said. “People weren’t interested in the issue of maternal and reproductive health until they started seeing it as a threat. »
Nadia Brown, a government professor at Georgetown University who focuses on black women and politics, said Harris “will definitely go down in the history books” for breaking racial and gender barriers in politics.
She said Harris’ tenure as vice president helped broaden the views of “ordinary Americans who might have misconceptions about what a leader could or should be.”
The only question remaining is what Harris decides to do now.
“It’s not over,” Brown said. “But I’m not sure what the next chapter will be.”
