Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris[a] (/ˈkɑːmələ ˈdeɪvi/ ⓘ KAH-mə-lə DAY-vee;[2][3] born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president.[4][5] A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 and a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021.
For the wrestler James "Kamala" Harris, see Kamala (wrestler).
Kamala Harris
Jerry Brown
- Politician
- lawyer
- author
Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her career in the office of the district attorney (DA) of Alameda County, before being recruited to the San Francisco DA's Office and later the City Attorney of San Francisco's office. In 2003, she was elected DA of San Francisco. She was elected AG of California in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. Harris served as the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021; she defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African-American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate.[6][7] As a senator, she advocated for healthcare reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, strict gun control laws,[8][9] and progressive tax reform. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault.[10]
Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew from the race prior to the primaries. She was selected by Joe Biden to be his running mate, and their ticket went on to defeat the then incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Harris and Biden were inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
Early career (1990–2004)
In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up".[48] In 1994, Speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown, who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the California Medical Assistance Commission.[48] Harris took a six-month leave of absence in 1994 from her duties, then afterward resumed as prosecutor during the years she sat on the boards. Harris's connection to Brown was noted in media reportage as part of a pattern of Californian political leaders appointing "friends and loyal political soldiers" to lucrative positions on the commissions. Harris has defended her work.[48][49][50]
In February 1998, San Francisco district attorney Terence Hallinan recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.[51] There, she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, robbery, and sexual assault cases – particularly three-strikes cases. In 2000, Harris reportedly clashed with Hallinan's assistant, Darrell Salomon,[52] over Proposition 21, which granted prosecutors the option of trying juvenile defendants in Superior Court rather than juvenile courts.[53] Harris campaigned against the measure, which passed. Salomon opposed directing media inquiries about Prop 21 to Harris and reassigned her, a de facto demotion. Harris filed a complaint against Salomon and quit.[54]
In August 2000, Harris took a job at San Francisco City Hall, working for city attorney Louise Renne.[55] Harris ran the Family and Children's Services Division representing child abuse and neglect cases. Renne endorsed Harris during her D.A. campaign.[56]
Harris has written two non-fiction books and one children's book.