Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to be the face of the White House’s efforts to expand voting around the country, according to press secretary Jen Psaki, as some see President Joe Biden handing her impossible tasks.
“She actually asked to run point on voting rights. It’s an issue that she is personally committed to and passionate about,” Psaki told reporters Wednesday.
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Biden announced this week that Harris would lead his administration’s campaign countering the “unprecedented assault” on voting. Republican-governed states have sought to shore up their election security and integrity laws after the 2020 contest’s reliance on mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Some Biden critics, including former Trump White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah, chimed in Tuesday to contend Harris has become Biden’s go-to Cabinet member for his toughest, and likely unsolvable, problems.
Biden carrying on the long-standing American tradition of passing off the terrible/ impossible tasks to your VP https://t.co/MIWDTwHfnP
— Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) June 1, 2021
Psaki declined to answer a question about any Harris plans to travel to red states that have passed election laws to which Democrats are opposed, saying she would leave it to the vice president to describe how she will tackle the issue. But her boss’s approach offers clues.
Part of Biden’s response includes lobbying the Senate to pass one or both House bills addressing voting, a seemingly impossible task as 10 Republicans will have to support them unless the chamber’s filibuster rules are rolled back.
H.R. 1, dubbed the For the People Act, is a far-reaching measure with public financing and automatic voter registration provisions. It cleared the House in March, but West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has not endorsed S.1., H.R. 1’s companion legislation in the Senate. He has said he would support the John Lewis Voting Rights Enhancement Act, or H.R. 4. That proposal restores Justice Department pre-clearance requirements for states with a history of restricting ballot access.
Harris’s new role adds to her growing list of responsibilities as Biden’s No. 2 — and potential presidential candidate in 2024 or 2028. Her portfolio already includes tackling the root causes of illegal migration across the southern border from the Northern Triangle, improving broadband access, championing small business, and heading the National Space Council.
Psaki described Harris Wednesday as “an important partner” and “somebody who can work to take on challenging and hard initiatives.”
“He’s confident in her ability to take on a robust agenda, which she certainly has on her plate,” she said of Biden.
Shortly after Biden’s announcement in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harris released a statement welcoming the role as “the work of democracy.”
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“In the days and weeks ahead, I will engage the American people, and I will work with voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector to help strengthen and uplift efforts on voting rights nationwide,” she wrote.
