What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?

After rising pressure from his party to step aside, President Biden upended the 2024 election by abandoning his bid for reelection. Vice President Kamala Harris said she would seek the nomination in his place, and Biden gave Harris his "full support and endorsement" in a social media post. "Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump," he said. "Let's do this." Harris said she was "honored" to have his endorsement and intended to "earn and win this nomination" and "unite the Democratic Party" to "defeat Donald Trump."

Harris taking the helm of the Democratic ticket is far from a done deal. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the party will "undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward." The statement made it clear that while Harris is "emerging as the prohibitive favorite to become the party's nominee, it’s not so simple," The Associated Press said. The Vice President is now charged with proving that she can stand on her own against Donald Trump, a task further complicated by her four-year struggle to distinguish herself while working in Biden's shadow. 

It is not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work. Harris' "critics and detractors alike acknowledge that the vice presidency is intended to be a supporting role," The New York Times said, and "many of her predecessors have labored to make themselves relevant, as well." Still, her track record as a Vice President will be put under even more intense scrutiny now that she's on the cusp of securing the Democratic nomination. Over the last four years, Harris has taken the lead on several critical issues while Biden focused his efforts elsewhere.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Abortion rights

Abortion has become a central issue for Democrats following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn federal abortion rights. Harris spent much of the 2022 midterms appealing to voters with promises to prioritize and protect reproductive rights. Since Roe fell, she has "been subtly making herself the voice with a megaphone no one can ignore," said Philip Elliott at Time, adding that Harris has met with lawmakers from at least 18 states to discuss the issue. As Biden announced his 2024 candidacy, Harris gave a fiery speech at a reproductive freedom rally at her alma mater, Howard University. She blasted "extremist so-called leaders" for passing restrictive abortion bans.

She needs a serious reputation boost, "which explains why Harris has made abortion rights a central piece of her political identity," Elliott continued. After all, outrage over Roe v. Wade "powered Democratic candidates to unexpectedly strong showings in the midterm elections," and many believe Harris "played no small role in that accomplishment," Elliott said.

This year, Harris continued to put abortion at the forefront of her work. In March 2024, she toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota that provides abortion services. The White House said it was the first time in U.S. history that a president or vice president has visited a clinic that provides abortion services. The tour was the sixth stop on her "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour, which she started in January to "push for more abortion access in the wake of the overruling of Roe v. Wade," said NBC News.

Immigration and the southern border

Biden tapped Harris in the early months of their term to spearhead efforts to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. It took her months to make her first and only visit to the area, and the delay elicited backlash from lawmakers on both sides. Her trip to Guatemala and Mexico was ultimately overshadowed by an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News where she "awkwardly downplayed the urgency" of the visit, The Washington Post said. Since then, Harris has borne the brunt of the criticism from Republicans as the border crisis worsens; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sent multiple buses of asylum seekers from the border to the VP's home in protest.

After withstanding the intense backlash of her perceived inaction, Harris is still attempting to address the root causes of the immigration problem. Her Central America Forward initiative has "yielded more than $4.2 billion in private sector commitments" to support creating local jobs and other measures to slow the flow of mass migration, CNN said last year. Some experts have lauded Harris' ability to secure the investments "as her most visible action in the region to date but have cautioned about the durability of those investments over the long term," CNN said.

Harris still has an uphill battle ahead of her to reverse public opinion about her work, or lack thereof, on the border. In January 2023, the Border Patrol union lambasted her lack of progress. "If you were given a job two years ago with the explicit goal of reducing illegal immigration, and then you sit around and do nothing while illegal immigration explodes to levels never seen before, you should be fired and replaced," the union said on X.

Voting rights

Harris was also at the forefront of the administration's pursuit to codify voting rights protections. She pushed for Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would have extended the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and required federal approval for some local election law changes. The VP "dove into" the "chance to make her mark on a hugely important issue," Eugene Daniels said in  Politico. To further that goal, Harris "helped craft political coalitions with civil rights leaders, built outside pressure on Congress, and engaged privately with lawmakers." Ultimately, her work "hit a brick wall" when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and now-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) rejected proposed changes to Senate procedures to stop a Republican filibuster.

Harris' work leading up to the stalled legislation became "a microcosm of her stint as vice president: one defined by sharp moments, mishaps, public drama, private work and a touch of bad political luck," Daniels said.

What's next for Harris?

In the hours following Biden's public endorsement, Harris racked up support from a number of high-profile Democrats. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Harris as Biden's replacement, calling her "brilliantly astute" and the best person to defeat Trump in the fall. "My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political," Pelosi said in a statement. Her endorsement came hours after Harris' first public appearance since Biden dropped, where she praised the president's "deep love of our country." Harris also earned the endorsement of several potential challengers, including Governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Tony Evers of Wisconsin. 

In the hours following Biden's public endorsement, Harris racked up support from a number of high-profile Democrats. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Harris as Biden's replacement, calling her  "brilliantly astute" and the best person to defeat Trump in the fall. "My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political," Pelosi said in a statement. Her endorsement came hours after Harris' first public appearance since Biden dropped, where she praised the president's "deep love of our country." Harris also earned the endorsement of several potential challengers, including Governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Tony Evers of Wisconsin. 

Within the first 24 hours after Biden's endorsement, donors raised a record-breaking $81 million for Harris' campaign. That number jumped to $100 million by Monday evening, "far surpassing the $53 million that Trump’s political operation touted raising after his May conviction in a Manhattan business fraud case," CNN said. Over 1.1 million donors have contributed to the fundraising effort, with 62% of them donating for the first time this election cycle, her campaign said. 

In her first statement following Biden's announcement, Harris said she intended to "earn and win this nomination." To earn the nomination, she will need to "secure the necessary support from the party's delegates," CBS News said. This could take place on an upcoming virtual roll call, or during an open convention. The DNC Rules Committee plans on meeting soon to "discuss next steps for the party's nomination process."