VP Harris’ Treatment of Staff Becomes a Campaign Issue
Kamala Harris has faced accusations of mistreating staff throughout her career, from her time as San Francisco’s district attorney, through her tenure as California’s attorney general, to her role as senator and Vice President under President Joe Biden. Now, this history is resurfacing as a potential campaign issue while she appears poised to secure the Democratic nomination.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has expressed concerns about Harris’ difficulty retaining staff, telling Fox News that “nobody lasts very long” working for her, and how she treats her staff “is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future.”
McCarthy made these comments during an interview on “Life, Liberty & Levin” this week, stating, “Nobody lasts very long. Even as VP, when she didn’t do anything, she could not keep staff. That is a person that the press will never talk about… How she treats people around her is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future.”
He also noted, “It is known in California, and it’s known in Washington. It is a heroic work environment if you work for her.”
McCarthy recalled how, when Harris was elected to the Senate, he reached out to meet with her, but she refused. He mentioned that other Democrats in the California delegation “didn’t care for her because she would not meet.”
McCarthy’s remarks align with a report by OpenTheBooks.com, a “government watchdog organization,” which recently revealed that Harris’ Office of the Vice President has a 91.5% staff turnover rate. According to payroll records, as of March 31, 2024, only four of the original 47 staffers from her first year as VP remain, while 24 employees left in the preceding year. Currently, Harris has 50 staffers.
This turnover rate surpasses both President Biden’s (77%) and former President Trump’s (72%) during their first terms, per OpenTheBooks.com.
“It’s always been a problem,” a former Harris aide told The Hill in 2022. “You have to have your people around you.”
Another ex-staffer added, “Politics is about relationships, especially the relationships with the people around you. I think there’s a lot of improvement needed there.”
A past op-ed in The Union by the father of a former intern for Harris, when she was California’s Attorney General, described his son Gregory’s “eye-opening experience” working for her, an experience that “none of us expected.”
“Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day,” wrote Terry McAteer.
He also noted, “As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, ‘Good Morning General,’” and that Gregory was instructed never to address or look her in the eye, a privilege reserved for senior staff.
Recently, former Harris staffers have criticized her leadership style, calling her a “bully” who left people in tears after harsh tirades. These accusations, published by author Charlie Spiering in the Daily Mail, describe Harris as a “soul-destroying bully” responsible for unusually high staff turnover.
Since 2010, when Harris served as California attorney general, she has been accused of fostering a “toxic” work environment. Barbara O’Connor, a professor at the University of California-Sacramento, said some of her students who interned for Harris would “frequently come back to her crying and saying that they ‘felt they weren’t valued,’” according to Spiering.