Biden threatened to fire staff who leaked negative stories about Harris, new book claims
Excerpts from a forthcoming book shed new light on tensions between Vice President Kamala Harris and other members of the Biden administration and on Harris' own frustration with her role, Politico reports.
New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns describe these struggles in their book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future, which is due out May 3.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
"In private, Bedingfield had taken to noting that the vice presidency was not the first time in Harris's political career that she had fallen short of sky-high expectations: Her Senate office had been messy and her presidential campaign had been a fiasco. Perhaps, she suggested, the problem was not the vice president's staff," Martin and Burns claim.
Bedingfield told Politico that the authors had not fact checked this "unattributed claim" with her. She also described Harris as "a force in this administration."
Another excerpt quotes an unnamed senator "close to" Harris who described the recent years of her political career as a "slow rolling Greek tragedy" and her frustration level as "up in the stratosphere."
Martin and Burns also report that Biden threatened to fire any staffers caught leaking negative stories about Harris to the press.
An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 registered voters conducted between March 12 and 15 found that 55 percent of respondents held an unfavorable view of Harris, compared to 37 percent who said they view her favorably.
-
Political cartoons for February 3Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include empty seats, the worst of the worst of bunnies, and more
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
