In a shocking revelation, former employees of Vice President Kamala Harris have begun to shed light on her alleged "toxic behavior" in the workplace.
It has been reported that a mere four out of the initial 71 staffers hired during her first year as Vice President are still employed under her.
As reported by The Daily Mail, a staggering 67 out of the original 71 staff members hired during Harris's initial tenure have either resigned or been dismissed. This pattern of high turnover is not a recent development.
As early as 2010, during her tenure as California Attorney General, Harris was reportedly known for fostering a "toxic" work environment. Congressional sources relayed to the media that Harris was prone to berating her staff with expletive-filled outbursts and frequently lashed out at subordinates.
This behavior allegedly earned her a reputation as a "soul-destroying" bully within her workplace.
Barbara O'Connor, a professor at California State University, shared that students who interned for Harris often returned in tears, feeling as though they "weren't valued" in her office during her time as a government official in California.
Her tenure in the Senate, following her 2017 victory, was reportedly not much different. According to The Post Millennial, Harris had the ninth-highest turnover rate among the 114 Senate offices from 2017 to 2020.
Eyewitness accounts recall Harris berating Senate staffers who were not even under her employ, and in one instance, ordering them out of the main Senate Judiciary Committee room with a profanity-laden command.
During her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris's alleged behavior began to attract media attention. In a resignation letter published by the New York Times in 2019, Harris's State Operations Director, Kelly Mehlenbacher, stated, "This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly."
Mehlenbacher added, "Morale has never been lower." Harris subsequently withdrew from the presidential race, but was later selected as Biden's running mate, fulfilling his promise to choose a black woman as his Vice President.
In June 2021, Politico interviewed 22 individuals familiar with Harris's Vice Presidential office. The consensus among them was that the office was characterized by "low morale, porous lines of communication, and diminished trust among aides and senior officials."
One source described the office as a place where people felt "treated like sh*t." Despite attempts by Harris's office to quell these reports, more staffers emerged to criticize her treatment of subordinates. In a subsequent report by the Washington Post in December 2021, staffers alleged that Harris would often refuse to prepare for public appearances, subsequently blaming her staff for any shortcomings.
One former employee stated, "It's clear [with Harris] that you're not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work." The ex-staffer added, "With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence.
So, you're constantly sort of propping up a bully and it's not really clear why." These allegations, if true, paint a concerning picture of the Vice President's leadership style and workplace culture.
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