Vice President Kamala Harris has faced criticism from both outside and within her Democratic Party for failing to address several key issues, such as record migration at the US-Mexico border — which was her top priority.
Her apparent lack of authority on Capitol Hill in negotiating accords has also been a concern, given that she was a California senator before becoming vice president in 2020.
Such difficulties have fueled discussion about whether President Joe Biden may replace her on his 2024 ticket.
The Los Angeles Times published an in-depth article about Harris and how she continues to fly back to California every chance she gets to “hide out” from “scorn and criticism.”
The profile begins: “In a city full of celebrities and A-listers, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s presence is hard to escape. For Harris, the temptation to abandon Washington, where she faces Republican derision and criticism within her party, for downtime at home has been tough to satisfy in recent years.”
“While President Biden has a near-weekly habit of returning home to neighboring Delaware, a taxpayer-funded cross-country journey to Los Angeles is more difficult to justify unless it is for official business. Harris’ excursions back to Los Angeles are frequently disguised as an event to celebrate a local small business or a stop to raise awareness about one of her legislative priorities, such as black maternal healthcare or reproductive rights,” the LA Times added