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Harris pushed hard for voting rights -- then hit a brick wall
PoliticoMore than six months ago, Vice President Kamala Harris embraced a new mission: to lead the administration’s push for federal voting rights legislation.
It was a chance to make her mark on a hugely important issue. And it took on added importance as her tenure turned bumpy over the summer. She dove into it.
For months, she helped craft political coalitions with civil rights leaders, built outside pressure on Congress and engaged privately with lawmakers. She met with Black leaders, helped create a list of actions that federal agencies could take to promote voter engagement and, more recently, added a larger media profile, with a high clip of national interviews. She spoke at the anniversary event for the Jan. 6 insurrection alongside President Joe Biden and then accompanied him to Georgia for a speech this past week to make a last public plea to pass new protections for voting.
On Friday, her work — and that of the administration, as a whole — hit a brick wall, as two moderate Senate Democrats said they would not support weakening the rules of the chamber to pass the party’s two election reform priorities. It’s left Harris in a now familiar place: stymied and with an uncertain path forward.
Harris’ aides and advisers say she’s unbowed by the setback. They view her more aggressive posture and increasingly public persona as an implicit sign that she’s solidified her standing in the White House. Allies argue she's finally getting a chance to succeed after prior misuse.
It was a chance to make her mark on a hugely important issue. And it took on added importance as her tenure turned bumpy over the summer. She dove into it.
For months, she helped craft political coalitions with civil rights leaders, built outside pressure on Congress and engaged privately with lawmakers. She met with Black leaders, helped create a list of actions that federal agencies could take to promote voter engagement and, more recently, added a larger media profile, with a high clip of national interviews. She spoke at the anniversary event for the Jan. 6 insurrection alongside President Joe Biden and then accompanied him to Georgia for a speech this past week to make a last public plea to pass new protections for voting.
On Friday, her work — and that of the administration, as a whole — hit a brick wall, as two moderate Senate Democrats said they would not support weakening the rules of the chamber to pass the party’s two election reform priorities. It’s left Harris in a now familiar place: stymied and with an uncertain path forward.
Harris’ aides and advisers say she’s unbowed by the setback. They view her more aggressive posture and increasingly public persona as an implicit sign that she’s solidified her standing in the White House. Allies argue she's finally getting a chance to succeed after prior misuse.
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