![]() ![]() “I do think there’s a little more breathing room now because Democrats did well in the midterms,” said Cristóbal Alex, a Democratic strategist and former Biden administration official. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa). She’s voted three times so far in 2023, breaking 48-48 ties caused in part by the extended health-related absences of Sens. “And so that had a real impact on the ability to then plan any kind of travel, be it domestic or international.”īut Harris may ultimately break fewer ties in the 118th Congress than in the last two-year session after Democrats increased their majority this Congress to 51-49 from 50-50. “I needed to be available and on call essentially throughout the week when the Senate was in session in the event that my vote was needed,” she said in a 2022 interview with National Public Radio. Harris has confirmed that having to be on stand-by for votes had made a “big difference” in her ability to do her job. “It turns out everyone showed up, so I have to go break that vote so we can get that nomination through.” “Please forgive me, these things come in based on who shows up in the Senate,” she told the workers before leaving for the Capitol. She stepped up and did her job nobly.”įor example, in October 2021, Harris abruptly departed a meeting with federal workers to cast a tiebreaking vote to advance the administration’s civil rights chief for the Education Department. “But again, it’s constitutionally prescribed. “I actually think the 50-50 Senate was a disadvantage to those of us that want her to travel and continue to advance the cause of the country,” said Booker. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), an ally of the vice president, said Harris’ Senate voting duties could at times be frustrating to her supporters. “There are more occasions when VP Harris needs to be in or near DC than for virtually all of her recent predecessors,” Goldstein said. than she does from having to cast votes in line with the White House she serves in. Goldstein, an emeritus professor of law at Saint Louis University and an expert on the vice presidency, said Harris suffers more for being kept from leaving in D.C. 2 and her inability to move beyond the Beltway to connect with voters has likely contributed to her lackluster popularity. ![]() ![]() Harris has faced that problem more than any past No. As the 2024 presidential race heads up, Harris may find she’ll need to stay off the campaign trial in order to preside over tight Senate votes. Vice presidents often find their own domestic portfolio shifted to the backburner when they have to preside over a deadlocked vote. In August 2022, Harris cast three votes to advance the president’s signature climate, tax, and health package (Public Law 117-169).Īll of her other votes to date have advanced President Joe Biden’s nominees to the administration and federal courts. In March 2021, she voted again to advance the measure. 5) and allowed the Senate to pass parts of the $1.9 trillion pandemic response package (Public Law 117-2) with a simple majority. In February 2021, she voted twice during a “vote-a-rama” that advanced a budget resolution (S. Harris cast her first votes in her third week as vice president. The Senate has historically required 60 votes to advance bills and nominees to their final stage, and it often conducts business quickly by a simple voice vote.īut both parties over time have embraced rules that allow the Senate to advance nominees and some economic packages with only simple majorities, raising the number of chances for the 100-member body to split 50-50. ![]()
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