The Harris family lived inBerkeley until they moved in 1966, around Kamala's second birthday. The Harrises lived for a few years incollege towns in theMidwest where her parents held teaching or research positions:[10]Urbana, Illinois (where her sisterMaya was born in 1966);Evanston, Illinois; andMadison, Wisconsin.[b][11][10][12] By 1970, the marriage had faltered, and Shyamala moved back to Berkeley with her two daughters;[13][14][10] the couple divorced when Kamala was seven.[9]
During the early 1970s, Harris often went with her mother toChennai, India, where they stayed with her maternal grandfather. She learned to wear traditional Indian dress and speak a few phrases of theTamil language.[15]
In 1972, Donald Harris accepted a position at Stanford University; Kamala and Maya spent weekends at his house inPalo Alto and lived at their mother's house in Berkeley during the week.[16] Shyamala was friends with African-American intellectuals and activists in Oakland and Berkeley.[12] In 1976, she accepted a research position at theMcGill University School of Medicine, and moved with her daughters toMontreal, Quebec.[17][18] Kamala graduated fromWestmount High School onMontreal Island in 1981.[19]
In 2002, Harris ran fordistrict attorney of San Francisco,[33] running a "forceful" campaign[34][35] and differentiating herself from Hallinan by attacking his performance.[36] Harris wonthe election with 56% of the vote, becoming the firstperson of color elected district attorney of San Francisco.[37] She ran unopposed for a second term in 2007.[38]
Within the first six months of taking office, Harris cleared 27 of 74 backlogged homicide cases.[39] She also pushed for higher bail for criminaldefendants involved in gun-related crimes, arguing that historically low bail encouraged outsiders to commit crimes in San Francisco.SFPD officers credited Harris with tightening theloopholes defendants had used in the past.[40] During her campaign, Harris pledged never to seek the death penalty,[41] and kept to this in the cases of aSan Francisco Police Department officer, Isaac Espinoza, who was shot and killed in 2004,[42][43] and ofEdwin Ramos, anillegal immigrant and allegedMS-13 gang member who was accused of murdering a man and his two sons in 2009.[44][45]
Harris created a Hate Crimes Unit, focusing onhate crimes againstLGBT children and teens in schools,[46] and supported A.B. 1160, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act.[47] As district attorney, she created an environmental crimes unit in 2005.[48] Harris expressed support for San Francisco'ssanctuary city policy of not inquiring about immigration status in the process of a criminal investigation.[49] In 2004, she created the San Francisco Reentry Division.[50] Over six years, the 200 people graduated from the program had arecidivism rate of less than 10%, compared to the 53% of California's drug offenders who returned to prison within two years of release.[51][52][53]
In 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the city's homicide rate, Harris led a citywide effort to combattruancy for at-risk elementary school youth in San Francisco.[54] In 2008, declaring chronic truancy a matter of public safety and pointing out that the majority of prison inmates and homicide victims are dropouts or habitual truants,[55] she issued citations against six parents whose children missed at least 50 days of school, the first time San Francisco prosecuted adults for student truancy.[56] Harris's office ultimately prosecuted seven parents in three years, with none jailed.[57] By April 2009, 1,330 elementary school students were habitual or chronic truants, down 23% from 1,730 in 2008, and from 2,517 in 2007 and 2,856 in 2006.[57]
In 2010, Harris announced her candidacy for attorney general and was endorsed by prominent California Democrats, including U.S. senatorsDianne Feinstein andBarbara Boxer and House speakerNancy Pelosi.[60] She won the Democratic primary and narrowly defeated Republican nomineeSteve Cooley in the general election.[61] Her tenure was marked by significant efforts in consumer protection, criminal justice reform, and privacy rights.
In 2014, Harris was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Ronald Gold with 58% of the vote.[59] Her future opponent in the2024 United States presidential election,Donald Trump, made two contributions to her reelection campaign totaling $6,000. In 2015, she donated Trump's contributions to a "nonprofit that advocates for civil and human rights for Central Americans."[62][c]
During her second term, Harris expanded her focus on consumer protection, recovering billions for California consumers by securing major settlements against corporations likeQuest Diagnostics,[63]JPMorgan Chase,[64] andCorinthian Colleges.[65][66] She spearheaded the creation of the Homeowner Bill of Rights to combat aggressiveforeclosure practices during the housing crisis, recording multiple nine-figure settlements against mortgage servicers.[67][68] Harris also worked on privacy rights. She collaborated with major tech companies likeApple,Google, andFacebook to ensure that mobile apps disclosed their data-sharing practices.[69][70] She created the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit, focusing on cyber privacy and data breaches.[70] California secured settlements with companies likeComcast andHouzz for privacy violations.[71][72]
Harris was instrumental in advancing criminal justice reform. She launched the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry and implemented the Back on Track LA program, which provided educational and job training opportunities for nonviolent offenders.[73][74] Despite her focus on reform, Harris faced criticism for defending the state's position in cases involving wrongful convictions[75] and for her office's stance on prison labor.[76][77] She continued to advocate for progressive reforms, including banning thegay panic defense in California courts[78][79] and opposingProposition 8, the state's same-sex marriage ban.[80][81][82]
After more than 20 years as a U.S. senator from California, SenatorBarbara Boxer announced on January 13, 2015 that she would not run for reelection in 2016.[83] Harris announced her candidacy for the Senate seat the next week.[83] She was a top contender from the beginning of her campaign.[84]
The 2016 California Senate election used California's new top-two primary format, where the top two candidates in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party.[84] On February 27, 2016, Harris won 78% of theCalifornia Democratic Party vote at the party convention, allowing her campaign to receive financial support from the party.[85] Three months later, Governor Jerry Brown endorsed her.[86] In the June 7 primary, Harris came in first with 40% of the vote and won with pluralities in most counties.[87] Harris faced representative and fellow DemocratLoretta Sanchez in the general election.[88]
On July 19, PresidentBarack Obama and Vice PresidentJoe Biden endorsed Harris.[89] In theNovember 2016 election, Harris defeated Sanchez with over 60% of the vote, carrying all but four counties.[90] After her victory, she promised to protect immigrants from the policies of president-electDonald Trump and announced her intention to remain attorney general through the end of 2016.[91][92] Harris became the second Black woman and first South Asian American senator in history.[93][94][95]
On January 28, after Trump signedExecutive Order 13769, barring citizens from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, she condemned the order and was one of many to call it a "Muslim ban".[101] She calledWhite House Chief of StaffJohn F. Kelly at home to gather information and push back against the executive order.[102]
In April, Harris voted against the confirmation ofNeil Gorsuch to theU.S. Supreme Court.[106] Later that month, she took her first foreign trip to the Middle East, visiting California troops stationed inIraq and theZaatari refugee camp inJordan, the largest camp for Syrian refugees.[107]
In December, Harris called for the resignation of SenatorAl Franken, writing on Twitter, "Sexual harassment and misconduct should not be allowed by anyone and should not occur anywhere."[112]
In January, Harris was appointed to theSenate Judiciary Committee after Franken resigned.[114] Later that month, she questioned Homeland Security SecretaryKirstjen Nielsen for favoring Norwegian immigrants over others and for claiming to be unaware that Norway is a predominantly white country.[115][116]
Also in January, Harris and senatorsHeidi Heitkamp,Jon Tester, andClaire McCaskill co-sponsored the Border and Port Security Act,[117] legislation to mandate thatU.S. Customs and Border Protection "hire, train and assign at least 500 officers per year until the number of needed positions the model identifies is filled" and require the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection to determine potential equipment and infrastructure improvements for ports of entry.[118]
In May, Harris heatedly questioned Nielsen about theTrump administration family separation policy, under which children were separated from their families when their parents were taken into custody for illegally entering the U.S.[119] In June, after visiting one of the detention facilities near the border inSan Diego,[120] Harris became the first senator to demand Nielsen's resignation.[121]
In the September and OctoberBrett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Harris questionedBrett Kavanaugh about a meeting he may have had regarding the Mueller Investigation with a member ofKasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded byDonald Trump's personal attorney,Marc Kasowitz. Kavanaugh was unable to answer and repeatedly deflected.[122] Harris also participated in questioning the FBI director's limited scope of the investigation of Kavanaugh regarding allegations of sexual assault.[123] She voted against his confirmation.
In December, the Senate passed theJustice for Victims of Lynching Act (S. 3178), sponsored by Harris.[125] The bill, which died in the House, would have made lynching a federal hate crime.[126]
Harris supportedbusing fordesegregation of public schools, saying, "the schools of America are as segregated, if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary school."[127] She viewed busing as an option to be considered by school districts, rather than the responsibility of the federal government.[128]
In March 2019, after special counselRobert Mueller submittedhis report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, Harris called for U.S. attorney generalWilliam Barr to testify before Congress in the interests of transparency.[130] Two days later, Barr released afour-page "summary" of the redacted Mueller Report, which was criticized as a deliberate mischaracterization of its conclusions.[131] Later that month, Harris was one of 12 Democratic senators led byMazie Hirono to sign a letter questioning Barr's decision to offer "his own conclusion that the President's conduct did not amount to obstruction of justice", and called for an investigation into whether Barr's summary of theMueller report and his statements at a news conference were misleading.[132]
In April 2019, Harris was one of 34 Senate Democrats and independents to write a letter urging President Trump not to cut aid toEl Salvador,Guatemala, andHonduras. The group wrote:[133]
We encourage you to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America....Since taking office, you have consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance. It is neither charity, nor is it a gift to foreign governments. Our national security funding is specifically designed to promote American interests, enhance our collective security, and protect the safety of our citizens... By obstructing the use of [Fiscal Year 2018] national security funding and seeking to terminate similar funding from [Fiscal Year 2017], you are personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
On May 1, 2019, Barr testified before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[134] During the hearing, he remained defiant about the misrepresentations in the four-page summary he had released ahead of the full report.[135] When asked by Harris whether he had reviewed the underlying evidence before deciding not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice, Barr admitted that neither he,Rod Rosenstein, nor anyone in his office had reviewed the evidence supporting the report before making the charging decision.[136] Harris later called for Barr to resign, accusing him of refusing to answer her questions because he could open himself up toperjury, and saying his responses disqualified him from serving as U.S. attorney general.[137][138] Two days later, Harris demanded again that Department of Justice inspector generalMichael E. Horowitz investigate whether Barr acceded to pressure from the White House to investigate Trump's political enemies.[139]
On May 5, 2019, Harris said "voter suppression" prevented DemocratsStacey Abrams andAndrew Gillum from winning the 2018 gubernatorial elections inGeorgia andFlorida; Abrams lost by 55,000 votes and Gillum by 32,000. According to election law expertRichard L. Hasen, "I have seen no good evidence that the suppressive effects of strict voting and registration laws affected the outcome of the governor's races in Georgia and Florida."[140]
In November, Harris called for an investigation into the death of Roxsana Hernández, a transgender woman and immigrant who died inICE custody.[142][143]
In December, Harris led a group of Democratic senators and civil rights organizations in demanding the removal of White House senior adviserStephen Miller after emails published by theSouthern Poverty Law Center revealed frequent promotion ofwhite nationalist literature toBreitbart website editors.[144]
Before the opening of theimpeachment trial of Donald Trump on January 16, 2020, Harris delivered remarks on the floor of the Senate, stating her views on the integrity of the American justice system and the principle that nobody, including an incumbent president, is above the law. She later asked Senate Judiciary chairmanLindsey Graham to halt all judicial nominations during the impeachment trial, to which Graham acquiesced.[145][146] Harris voted to convict Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.[147]
Harris worked on bipartisan bills with Republican co-sponsors, including a bail reform bill withRand Paul,[148] an election security bill withJames Lankford,[149] and a workplace harassment bill withLisa Murkowski.[150]
2021
Following her election as Vice President of the United States, Harris resigned from her seat on January 18, 2021,[151] before taking office on January 20; she was replaced byCalifornia secretary of stateAlex Padilla.[152]
Committee assignments
While in the Senate, Harris was a member of the following committees:[153]
Harris had been considered a top contender and potential front-runner for the2020 Democratic nomination for president.[157] In June 2018, she said she was "not ruling it out".[158] In July 2018, it was announced that she would publish a memoir, a sign of a possible run.[159] On January 21, 2019, Harris officially announced hercandidacy for president of the United States in the2020 presidential election.[160] In the first 24hours after her announcement, she tied a record set byBernie Sanders in 2016 for the most donations raised in the day after an announcement.[161][162] More than 20,000 people attended her campaign launch event in her hometown of Oakland, California, on January 27, according to a police estimate.[163]
During the first Democraticpresidential debate in June 2019, Harris scolded former vice president Joe Biden for "hurtful" remarks he made, speaking fondly of senators who opposed integration efforts in the 1970s and working with them to oppose mandatory school bussing.[164] Harris's support rose by between six and nine points in polls after that debate.[165] In the second debate in August, Biden and RepresentativeTulsi Gabbard confronted Harris over her record as attorney general.[166] TheSan Jose Mercury News assessed that some of Gabbard's and Biden's accusations were on point, such as blocking the DNA testing of a death row inmate, while others did not withstand scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the debate, Harris fell in the polls.[76][167] Over the next few months her poll numbers fell to the low single digits.[168][169] Harris faced criticism from reformers for tough-on-crime policies she pursued while she was California's attorney general.[170] In 2014, she defended California's death penalty in court.[171]
Before and during her presidential campaign, an online informal organization using the hashtag #KHive formed to support Harris's candidacy and defend her from racist and sexist attacks.[172][173][174] According to theDaily Dot,Joy Reid first used the term in an August 2017 tweet saying "@DrJasonJohnson @ZerlinaMaxwell and I had a meeting and decided it's called the K-Hive."[175]
On December 3, 2019, Harris withdrew from the 2020 presidential election, citing a shortage of funds.[176] In March 2020, she endorsedJoe Biden for president.[177]
In May 2019, senior members of theCongressional Black Caucus endorsed the idea of a Biden–Harris ticket.[178] In late February 2020, Biden won a landslide victory in the2020 South Carolina Democratic primary with the endorsement of House whipJim Clyburn, with more victories onSuper Tuesday. In early March, Clyburn suggested Biden choose a black woman as a running mate, saying, "African American women needed to be rewarded for their loyalty".[179] In March, Biden committed to choosing a woman for his running mate.[180]
On April 17, 2020, Harris responded to media speculation and said she "would be honored" to be Biden's running mate.[181] In late May, in relation to themurder of George Floyd andensuing protests and demonstrations, Biden faced renewed calls to select a black woman as his running mate, highlighting the law enforcement credentials of Harris andVal Demings.[182]
On June 12,The New York Times reported that Harris was emerging as the front-runner to be Biden's running mate, as she was the only African American woman with the political experience typical of vice presidents.[183] On June 26,CNN reported that more than a dozen people close to the Biden search process considered Harris one of Biden's top four contenders, along withElizabeth Warren,Val Demings, andKeisha Lance Bottoms.[184]
On August 11, 2020, Biden announced he had chosen Harris.[185] She was the first African American, the firstIndian American, and the third woman afterGeraldine Ferraro andSarah Palin to be the vice-presidential nominee on a major-party ticket.[186] Harris is also the first resident of the Western United States to appear on the Democratic Party's national ticket.[187]
Harris being sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court JusticeSonia Sotomayor on January 20, 2021
Harris was sworn in as vice president at 11:40 a.m. on January 20, 2021, by JusticeSonia Sotomayor.[189] She is the United States' first woman vice president, first African-American vice president, and first Asian-American vice president.[190][191][192][193] Harris is the third person with acknowledged non-European ancestry to become president or vice president.[d]
When Harris took office, the117th Congress's Senate was divided 50–50 betweenRepublicans andDemocrats;[196] this meant that she was often called upon to exercise her power to casttie-breaking votes aspresident of the Senate. Harris cast her first two tie-breaking votes on February 5. In February and March, Harris's tie-breaking votes were required to pass theAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package Biden proposed, since no Senate Republicans voted for it.[197][198] On July 20, Harris brokeMike Pence's record for tie-breaking votes in the first year of a vice presidency[199] when she cast the seventh tie-breaking vote in her first six months.[200] She cast 13 tie-breaking votes during her first year in office, the most tie-breaking votes in a single year in U.S. history, surpassingJohn Adams, who cast 12 in 1790.[200][201] On December 5, 2023, Harris broke the record for the most tie-breaking votes cast by a vice president, casting her 32nd vote, exceedingJohn C. Calhoun, who cast 31 votes during his nearly eight years in office. When she left office, she had cast 33 such votes.[200][202] On November 19, 2021, Harris served asacting president from 10:10 to 11:35 am EST while Biden underwent acolonoscopy.[203] She was the first woman, and the third person overall, to assume the powers and duties of the presidency asacting president of the United States.[204][205][206]
As early as December 2021, Harris was identified as playing a pivotal role in theBiden administration owing to her tie-breaking vote in the evenly divided Senate as well as her being the presumed front-runner in 2024 if Biden did not seek reelection.[207]
On March 24, 2021, Biden assigned Harris to work with Mexico andNorthern Triangle nations (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) to stem irregular migration to theMexico–United States border and address the root causes of migration.[208][209] TheRoot Causes Strategy (RCS) was the product of this effort.[210] Multiple news organizations at the time described Harris as a "border czar",[211][212][213] though Harris rejected the title and never actually held it.[214][215][216] Republicans and other critics began using the term "border czar" to tie Harris to theMexico–United States border crisis, including in a July 2024 House resolution, despite her having no authority over the border itself.[217][218][219]
Harris arrives inGuatemala City during her first foreign trip as vice president, June 2021.
Harris conducted her first international trip as vice president in June 2021, visiting Guatemala and Mexico in an attempt to address the root causes of anincrease in migration from Central America to the United States.[220] During her visit, in a joint press conference with Guatemalan presidentAlejandro Giammattei, Harris issued an appeal to potential migrants: "I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come."[221] Her work in Central America led to creation of:
Harris met with French presidentEmmanuel Macron in November 2021 to strengthenties after thecontentious cancellation of asubmarine program.[225] Another meeting was held in November 2022 during Macron's visit to the U.S., resulting in an agreement to strengthen U.S.–France space cooperation across civil, commercial, and national security sectors.[226]
In April 2021, Harris said she was the last person in the room before Biden decided toremove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, adding that Biden had "an extraordinary amount of courage" and "make[s] decisions based on what he truly believes ... is the right thing to do".[227] National Security AdvisorJake Sullivan said that Biden "insists she be in every core decision-making meeting. She weighs in during those meetings, often providing unique perspectives."[224] Harris assumed a "key diplomatic role" in the Biden administration, particularly after theRussian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after which she was dispatched to Germany and Poland to rally support for arming Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia.[228]
Harris meeting with Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 25, 2024
In April 2023, Harris visitedGoddard Space Flight Center in Maryland with South Korean presidentYoon Suk Yeol and agreed to work to strengthen the space alliance between the U.S. and South Korea. "We renew our commitment to strengthen our cooperation in the next frontier of our expanding alliance, and of course that is space," Harris said at a joint news conference with Yoon.[229]
In November 2023, Harris pledged that the Biden administration would place no conditions onU.S. aid to Israel in its war withHamas inGaza.[230] In March 2024, she criticized Israel's actions during theGaza war, saying, "Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks...This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in."[231]
On July 21, 2024, Bidensuspended his reelection campaign and immediately endorsed Harris for president.[232] She was also endorsed byJimmy Carter,Bill andHillary Clinton,Barack andMichelle Obama, theCongressional Black Caucus, andmany others.[233][234][235][236] In the first 24 hours of her candidacy, her campaign raised $81 million in small-dollar donations, the highest single-day total of any presidential candidate in history.[237] Harris is the first nominee who did not participate in theprimaries since Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey in1968. She also had the shortest general election presidential campaign in history, at 107 days.
On September 10, 2024,ABC News hosted the presidential debate between Harris and Trump inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.[243] In the debate, Trump tried to portray Harris as a "radical liberal".[244] Harris's sharpest criticisms of Trump came onabortion rights, where she said she would restore women's rights to what they were underRoe.[245] Harris was declared the winner of the debate by several political analysts, including columnists fromCNN,[246]Politico,[247]The New York Times,[248] andUSA Today.[249] Some analysts noted that for Harris, this was the "best debate performance of her career," in which she forcefully highlighted her strengths and rattled former president Trump.[247][249] After the debate, Harris got a prominent celebrity endorsement fromTaylor Swift.[249] However, the polls remained close and showed Harris had a hard time conveying that she could represent a "change".[250][251]
On October 30, Harris delivered a half-hour speech atthe Ellipse inWashington, D.C., intended as a "closing argument" for her campaign.[252][253] Her statements about tax-fundedgender-affirming surgery fortransgender people in prison were attacked by Trump, who spent millions on a political advertisement that said, "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you." Trump's campaign spent more money on the advertisement than any other in the campaign.[254][255]
Harris lost the2024 United States presidential election to Trump on November 5, 2024.[256] She conceded the race the next day in a speech at her alma mater, Howard University.[257] Harris lost the Electoral College vote, 312 to 226, and the popular vote, 48.3% to 49.8%. She became the first Democratic nominee sinceJohn Kerry in2004 to lose the popular vote.[e] Losses in the "blue wall" states ofWisconsin,Michigan, andPennsylvania were considered key to her defeat, as were losses in the swing states ofNevada,Arizona,Georgia, andNorth Carolina.[258] Harris's loss was part of a global backlash against incumbent parties in 2024,[259][260] which occurred in part because of the2021–2023 inflation surge.[261][262] All 50 states andDC trended rightward compared to the 2020 presidential election.[263] On January 6, 2025, in her role aspresident of the Senate, Harris oversaw thecertification of Trump and Vance as the winners of the election.[264] Had she won, Harris would have been the first female and first Asian-American president of the United States, and the second African-American president after Obama.[265] She would also have been the first sitting vice president to assume the presidency sinceGeorge H. W. Bush.
On March 21, 2025, President Trump took away a courtesy normally extended to former vice presidents by revoking Harris'ssecurity clearance.[270]
On April 30, 2025, Harris delivered remarks at a gala for the 20th anniversary ofEmerge America in which she criticized the Trump administration, mainly for its handling of the economy and social issues.[271] The next week,Vogue reported that Harris made a surprise appearance and her formal debut at the 2025Met Gala, dressed in half white and black.[272]
Some speculated that Harris would run in the2026 California gubernatorial election; in July 2025, she announced she would not.[273] According toThe Hill, few top Democratic officials have discouraged her from running in the2028 presidential election, with some publicly saying they would support her should she decide to run.[274]
Under federal law, former vice presidents receive six months ofSecret Service protection. Harris's protection would have normally expired on July 21, 2025, but President Biden had extended it for an additional year by signing a directive before he left office. On August 28, 2025, President Trump signed a memorandum canceling her protection as of September 1.[275]
On September 23, 2025, Harris published a memoir,107 Days, detailing her 2024 presidential campaign. She has embarked on an international tour to promote the book.[276] Speaking on theBBC'sSunday with Laura Kuenssberg when promoting the book, she said she could "possibly" be a candidate in the 2028 presidential election.[277] In the same interview, she wondered whether she should have urged Biden not to run in 2024 and whether her silence was an act of "grace or recklessness".[278]
Harris supportsabortion rights, and reproductive health care was central to her presidential campaign.[287][288] She has been called "the Biden administration's voice for reproductive rights"[289] and "the White House's voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights."[290] Several abortion rights and women's organizations supported her after Biden withdrew from the race, withReproductive Freedom for All saying "there is nobody who has fought as hard [as Harris] for abortion rights and access" andEMILY's List calling her "our most powerful advocate and messenger" on reproductive rights.[291]
As California attorney general, Harris refused to defendProposition 8 in federal court, and after Proposition 8 was struck down inHollingsworth v. Perry in 2013, she ordered the Los Angeles County Clerk's office to "start the marriages immediately". She officiated at the wedding of the plaintiffs in the case, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, atSan Francisco City Hall.[294]
As a member of the U.S. Senate, Harris co-sponsored theEquality Act.[295]
In July 2018, Harris led her colleagues in introducing the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2018, a nationwide bill that would curtail the effectiveness of the so-calledgay and trans panic defenses, an issue she pioneered as district attorney of San Francisco.[296]
In October 2019, Harris participated in a CNN/Human Rights Campaign town hall on LGBTQ rights and pledged her support for "all of the folks who are fighting for equality" in cases that would determine whether gay and transgender people are protected under laws banning federal workplace discrimination.[297] Harris drew attention to the epidemic ofhate crimes committed against Blacktrans women (at the time 20 killed that year), noting that LGBTQ people of color are doubly discriminated against.[298][299]
Harris has since been criticized for a 2015 federal court motion she filed to block gender-affirming medical care for a transgender inmate serving in a California state prison while she was California attorney general, after theNinth Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that denying that treatment violated the8th Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.[300][301]
Criminal justice
In December 2018, Harris voted for theFirst Step Act, legislation aimed at reducingrecidivism rates among federal prisoners by expanding job training and other programs, in addition to forming an expansion of early release programs and modifications on sentencing laws such asmandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, "to more equitably punish drug offenders".[302]
In March 2020, Harris was one of 15 senators to sign a letter to theFederal Bureau of Prisons and private prison companiesGEO Group,CoreCivic, andManagement and Training Corporation requesting information on their strategy to address theCOVID-19 pandemic, asserting that it was "critical that [you] have a plan to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus to incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, along with their families and loved ones, and provide treatment to incarcerated individuals and staff who become infected."[303]
Harris's criminal justice record has been seen as mixed, with critics calling her "tough on crime" even though she called herself a "progressive prosecutor", citing her reluctance to release prisoners and anti-truancy policies. In her 2009 book, Harris criticized liberals for what she called "biases against law enforcement".[308]
Harris met her husband, attorneyDoug Emhoff, through a mutual friend who set them up on a blind date in 2013.[311] Emhoff, who was born in a Jewish family, was an entertainment lawyer who became partner-in-charge atVenable LLP's Los Angeles office.[312][311][313] Harris and Emhoff married on August 22, 2014, inSanta Barbara, California.[314] Harris is stepmother to Emhoff's two children, Cole andElla, from his previous marriage to the film producerKerstin Emhoff.[315] As of August 2024[update], Harris and her husband had an estimated net worth of $8million.[316][317]
Though the public had an unfavorable view of Harris as vice president, setting a record low,[325] her public image improved after Biden withdrew his candidacy for reelection. Notably, her approval rating rose 13% among Democrats.[326]
Harris experienced high staff turnover during her vice-presidential tenure, including the departures of her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, press secretary, deputy press secretary, communications director, and chief speechwriter.[327] Critics alleged that this turnover reflected dysfunction and demoralization.[228]Axios reported that at least some of the turnover was due to exhaustion from a demanding transition into the new administration, as well as financial and personal considerations.[328] For most of her tenure, Harris had one of the lowest approval ratings of any vice president.[329][330][325] According to aRealClear Politics polling average, a record low of 34.8% of Americans had a favorable view of her in August 2022, but this number rose rapidly after she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in July 2024. Harris had a net favorable rating by September 9.[331]
In 2024, a video clip from 2023 of Harris saying "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you" at a White House eventwent viral.[332] Since the launch of her 2024 presidential campaign, that and other Harris remarks have been widely shared as memes, resulting in press coverage of her public image.[333][334]
Harris's often boisterous laughter[f] has been called one of her "most defining and most dissected personal traits".[338] She says she got her laugh from her mother.[339]
Publications
Harris has written three nonfiction books and one children's book:
^abHarris was originally named Kamala Iyer Harris by her parents, who two weeks later filed anaffidavit by which her middle name was changed to Devi.[2]
^Trump's daughterIvanka also contributed $2,000 to Harris's reelection campaign, but no mention was made of whether Ivanka's contribution was also donated to a nonprofit organization.[62]
^In terms of its type, it is often described as a cackle or guffaw.[335][336][337] An example of it can be seen in the "coconut tree" video exhibited on the right of this section.
^abGoodyear, Dana (July 15, 2019)."Kamala Harris Makes Her Case".The New Yorker.Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. RetrievedAugust 19, 2022.Growing up, Harris was surrounded by African-American intellectuals and activists. One of her mother's closest friends was Mary Lewis, who helped found the field of black studies, at San Francisco State.
^Knight, Heather; Lagos, Marisa (September 16, 2009)."Newsom backs Harris' decision".San Francisco Chronicle.Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. RetrievedOctober 20, 2009.
^Bacerra, Xavier (January 3, 2011),Kamala D. Harris Takes Oath as California Attorney General, State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General,archived from the original on September 29, 2020, retrievedAugust 31, 2020,Harris is the first woman, and the first African American and the first South Asian American, to hold the office of Attorney General in the history of California
^Ma, Debbie S.; Hohl, Danita; Kantner, Justin (2021), "The politics of identity: The unexpected role of political orientation on racial categorization of Kamala Harris",Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy,21 (1):99–120,doi:10.1111/asap.12257,Harris, who has written and spoken at length about her parents' backgrounds and heritage,... On her official website, she asserts that she is 'the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history.'
^"Kamala D. Harris: US Senator from California". United States Senate. Archived fromthe original on October 14, 2020. RetrievedJuly 29, 2020.In 2017, Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as a United States senator for California, the second African-American woman, and first South Asian-American senator in history.
^Weinberg, Tessa; Palaniappan, Sruthi (December 3, 2019)."Kamala Harris: Everything you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidate". ABC News.Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. RetrievedAugust 10, 2020.Harris is the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, and is the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history.
^Martin, Jonathan; Herndon, Alstead W.; Burns, Alexander (November 19, 2019)."How Kamala Harris's Campaign Unraveled".The New York Times. Washington, DC.Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. RetrievedJune 27, 2022.
^"United States in the Senate: California Timeline". The United States Senate.Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. RetrievedAugust 3, 2024.2021, January 20: Kamala Harris of Los Angeles became the first woman and the first African American and Asian American to serve as vice president of the United States and president of the U.S. Senate.
^Solender, Andrew (August 12, 2020)."Here Are The 'Firsts' Kamala Harris Represents With VP Candidacy".Forbes.Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. RetrievedNovember 8, 2020.Harris would not be the first person of color to serve as vice president. That honor belongs to Charles Curtis, President Herbert Hoover's No. 2.
^Egan, Lauren; Gutierrez, Gabe; Gregorian, Dareh (March 24, 2021)."Biden tasks Harris with 'stemming the migration' on southern border". NBC News.Archived from the original on July 25, 2024. RetrievedJuly 22, 2024.A senior administration official said Harris' role would focus on 'two tracks': both curbing the current flow of migrants and implementing a long-term strategy that addresses the root causes of migration.
^Perry, Tim; O'Keefe, Ed; Montoya-Galvez, Camilo (March 24, 2021)."Harris to lead administration's efforts to stem migration at border".CBS News.Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. RetrievedJuly 28, 2024.She [the vice president] is really going to look at two tracks. She is going to work first on the goal of stemming the flow of irregular migrants to the US, but also at the same time, and as part of the broader context, her real goal is establishment of a strategic partnership with these countries that is based on respect and shared values.
^Lavandera, Ed (June 25, 2021)."Transcripts". CNN.Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. RetrievedJuly 28, 2024.Well, the vice president is expected to land here in El Paso in about an hour and a half. It will be a four-hour visit. And this will be her first visit to the U.S./Mexico border region since she was appointed as the border czar by President Biden.
^"Biden tasks Harris with tackling migrant influx on US–Mexico border".BBC News. March 24, 2021.Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. RetrievedJuly 25, 2024.US President Joe Biden has put Vice-President Kamala Harris in charge of controlling migration at the southern border following a big influx of new arrivals. Mr Biden said he was giving her a 'tough job' but that she was 'the most qualified person to do it'. [...] Announcing Ms Harris's appointment as his immigration czar
^Paz, Christian (July 18, 2024)."Kamala Harris and the border: The myth and the facts".Vox.Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. RetrievedJuly 22, 2024.If Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, Republicans have a ready-made case against her: They can say she was President Joe Biden's 'border czar', in charge of immigration and the border, and she failed ... There's just one problem. The vice president was never in charge of the border.
^Kight, Stef W. (July 24, 2024)."Harris border confusion haunts her new campaign".Axios.Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. RetrievedJuly 24, 2024.The announcement led to near-immediate confusion in the media and in the White House over how involved Harris would be, with Republicans and some news outlets, including Axios, giving Harris the unofficial monicker of 'border czar'. ... This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a 'border czar' in 2021.
^Benoit, Bertrand; Luhnow, David; Monga, Vipal (December 27, 2024)."The Progressive Moment in Global Politics is Over".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. RetrievedDecember 27, 2024.Weak economic growth and record immigration are driving gains by the right, especially populists.
^Burn-Murdoch, John (December 29, 2024)."What the 'year of democracy' taught us, in 6 charts".Financial Times.Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. RetrievedDecember 30, 2024.The billions who voted in 2024 sent an angry message to incumbents, and warmed to populists on left and right
^Sacchetti, Maria; Rivera, Anthony; Cheeseman, Abbie; McDaniel, Justine (September 10, 2024)."Kamala Harris's immigration policies, explained".The Washington Post.Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. RetrievedSeptember 10, 2024.
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