A third aide to Vice President Kamala Harris is heading for the exit amid claims of dysfunction within the veep’s office.
Vincent Evans, deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, has quit to take on a new job on Capitol Hill, CNBC reported Wednesday. He left to join the Congressional Black Caucus, which is headed by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), which certainly appears to be less than a lateral move.
He is the latest top staffer to leave the veep’s office amid reports that Harris is a “bully” who levels “soul-destroying criticism” in a highly dysfunctional office. Last month, her spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, and her communications director Ashley Etienne, left Harris’ office.
Etienne’s exit announcement came on the heels of devastating USA Today/Suffolk University polling that showed Harris earning a dismal 28% approval rating, 10 points behind President Joe Biden’s, who sat at a not-so-pretty 38% approval. Biden is apparently not too happy about Harris’ numbers, with one report saying she’s not even considered to be Biden’s successor in the White House anymore, while another said the president is considering moving her to the Supreme Court so he can pick a new veep who might have a chance to win in 2024.
Yet another report said the two top elected officials in the country are at war, prompting desperate Harris aides to defend their bosses, slamming the media for “gossip.”
“Joe Biden’s relationship with Kamala Harris is in crisis, with her staff furious that she is being ‘sidelined,’ while the president’s team are increasingly frustrated by how she is playing with American public,” the Daily Mail reported. “Harris’ approval rating has plunged even further than Biden’s in recent months, with rumors swirling that the president is considering appointing her to the Supreme Court as a backdoor method of selecting a new VP.”
The reports about a dysfunctional office emerged first on CNN. “Many current and former West Wing aides say that Vice President Kamala Harris is not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined, causing frustration among staffers,” CNN wrote last month.
“Interviews with nearly three dozen former and current Harris aides, administration officials, Democratic operatives, donors and outside advisers — who spoke extensively to CNN — reveal a complex reality inside the White House. Many in the vice president’s circle fume that she’s not being adequately prepared or positioned, and instead is being sidelined. The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she’s able to do politically. And those around her remain wary of even hinting at future political ambitions, with Biden’s team highly attuned to signs of disloyalty, particularly from the vice president,” CNN said.
And an unnamed staffer told The Washington Post last month, “With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected].