92 Percent Of Kamala Harris’ Staff Left In Her First Three Years As VP
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Open The Books, a government watchdog group, revealed Monday that the office of Kamala Harris has experienced a 91.5 percent turnover since she became vice-president. Only four of the 47 employees hired by Harris when she took office in March 2021 reportedly remain in her employment.
Biden’s X-account announced that he would “stand down” his reelection bid and “fully” support Harris as the nominee. OTB used U.S. Senate Disclosures to get records from the Vice President’s Office, including payrolls for 2021 and 2024.
Adam Andrzejewski, founder of OpenTheBooks, wrote: “Chaos reigns in the vice president’s office.” Our auditors at OpenTheBooks measured an extraordinary 91.5 percent staff turnover rate.
Payrolls give us more insight into Harris’ “staff exodus”. The Atlantic reported that Harris’ communications director and national security advisor, as well as her chief of staff and many aides, had all left the office within a year-and-a-half of taking up her post in January 2021.
The turnover chaos doesn’t seem to be improving. “Almost half of the staff left in the 12-month period that followed,” Andrzejewski wrote.
OTB’s probe also revealed Harris’s office’s lack of transparency and budget discrepancies. Andrzejewski stated that “Kamala Harris is committed to the secrecy of her payrolls and other office information.”
A spokesman denied the request, saying that the Vice President’s Office was exempt from FOIA. OTB asked Harris’ office for transparency and the spokesman replied that Harris “did not have any information at this time.”
Andrzejewski, in a Forbes article from 2021 detailing the interaction, wrote: “The VP’s refusal makes her the least transparency elected office holder of the country.” Citizens should be concerned about the fact that the next-in-line for the presidency refuses to reveal how she spends taxpayers’ money.
OTB’s investigations also revealed a discrepancy of over $2 million in Harris’ allocation to taxpayer dollars.
Andrzejewski wrote: “We calculated the salaries for VP Harris and her 28 staff, listed in the Senate Report, which totaled $2,334,223,” Andrzejewski said. The vice president’s staff “got $5 million in 2021 for 23 full-time staff and requested more than $6 million in 2022 for 27 full-time staff.”
Harris’ office refused to answer questions regarding this inconsistency. OTB’s analysis is based on the widespread dysfunction reported by corporate media. According to OTB, the media has called Harris’ office “revolving doors” and that key aides have been “heading for exits.”
Since 2021, The Washington Post interviewed 18 people in Harris’ orbit. The descriptions ranged from “uncomfortable,” to “soul destroying.”
Gil Duran, a former Harris aide who was also a Democrat strategist told The Post that “we’ve all said in our text groups what’s the common denominator throughout this whole thing and it’s she.” In 2013, Gil Duran quit Harris after only five months. “Who will you hire and fire next? Then have them pretend to retire for good reasons.”
Some people said Harris was blaming her staff for not being prepared.
Former anonymous Post staffer said: “It is clear that you are not working with someone who is willing and able to do the preparation and work.” “With Kamala, you’ll have to endure a lot of soul-destroying criticism as well as her lack of confidence. You’re always sort of defending a bully, and it’s unclear why.