Several former staffers of Vice President Kamala Harris have come forward to share their experiences working for her, describing her as a “bully” who left people in tears with her degrading tirades.
These revelations have shed light on an unprecedented staff turnover within her office, with only four out of the initial 71 staffers hired during her first year in office still remaining. The rest either quit or were fired, resulting in a staggering 92 percent staff turnover rate.
Author Charlie Spiering recently interviewed these former staffers for the UK’s Daily Mail and documented their stories in his book, “Amateur Hour.” The accounts he gathered paint a disturbing picture of Harris’s treatment of her staff, revealing a pattern of abusive behavior that has spanned throughout her political career.
Even dating back to her time as California’s attorney general in 2010, Harris was known for creating a toxic work environment. One professor from the University of California-Sacramento recalled how her students who interned for Harris frequently came back crying, feeling undervalued and unappreciated.
When Harris was elected as a U.S. senator from California in 2016, these same behaviors followed her to Washington, D.C. Her office had one of the highest staff turnover rates among all senators from 2017 to 2020. Congressional sources shared that Harris would often berate her subordinates with expletive-laden tirades.
Not even Republican staffers were spared from Harris’s verbal abuse. During the highly contentious confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, she berated a room full of Senate staffers, including those who worked for GOP senators, with her explosive outburst.
Her mistreatment of staff continued even after becoming Joe Biden’s vice president. A December 2021 report from The Washington Post featured interviews with current and former staffers, who revealed that working for Harris meant tolerating constant criticism and a lack of confidence from her. It was described as propping up a bully without understanding why.
The abusive environment within Harris’s office was also reported by Politico earlier that year. According to a source familiar with her office, people were often thrown under the bus, and the work environment was unhealthy, leaving staff feeling mistreated and unsupported.
Clearly, the experiences shared by these former and current staffers paint a troubling picture of Harris’s treatment of those who work for her. It begs the question of whether she is truly fit for the office she holds and the responsibility she carries.