Two aides to Vice President Harris who oversee travel have reportedly resigned shortly before she is expected to embark on a round of vaccine-related travel in July with her husband Doug Emhoff.
Sources close to the matter told The New York Times that Harris’s director of advance Karly Satkowiak and advance coordinator Gabrielle DeFranceschi both informed informed the vice president’s office that they planned to leave in the coming weeks.
A spokesperson for Harris told the Times their departures had been long planned and that both Satkowiak and DeFranceschi are engaged in the process of finding their replacements.
The Times reports that Harris’s office is short-staffed on travel support and efforts to find advance associates began before her recent trip to Central America. Advance associate is an unpaid position in which travel expenses are reimbursed by the government.
The Times notes that although President Biden assumed office with a slew of employees and aides who have been with him for much of his career, Harris began her term with many new employees with the understanding that they would be on for a brief period.
The Hill has reached out to Harris’s office for comment.
On Wednesday it was reported that Harris would visit the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time as vice president on Friday, following months of mounting pressure from the GOP. She will be joined by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.