Harris says she doesn’t feel underused in Biden administration

Vice President Harris said in an interview broadcast Thursday morning that she does not feel misused or underused in her role in the Biden administration and that she is “very excited” about the work she and President Biden have accomplished in their first 10 months in office.

Harris, who was asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” about some of her allies venting frustration that she could be better positioned in the administration, pointed to the White House’s recent victory in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Biden signed into law on Monday.

“This was a good week,” Harris said. “And this week … I’ve traveled around the country, as has the president. We have convened members of Congress, we have convened people around our nation, asking, ‘What do you want?’ And this is a response to what they want, and it’s actually going to hit the ground in a way that is going to have a direct impact on the American people. We’re getting things done, and we’re doing it together.”

When Stephanopoulos asked if she felt “misused” or “underused” in the administration, Harris replied, “No, I don’t.”

“I am very, very excited about the work that we have accomplished, but I am also absolutely, absolutely clear-eyed that there is a lot more to do and we are going to get it done,” Harris said.

Some Harris allies have expressed frustration about her standing in the administration. She is presiding over an expansive portfolio that includes challenging issues like immigration and voting rights, both of which are difficult to address in part due to the partisan divides in Washington and Democrats’ narrow control of government.

“It is natural that those of us who know her know how much more helpful she can be than she is currently being asked to be,” Eleni Kounalakis, the Democratic lieutenant governor of California, recently told CNN. “That’s where the frustration is coming from.”

A CNN report described rifts between Harris and other aides in the White House. After the piece published on Monday, the White House made a concerted effort to demonstrate that Harris is a valuable part of the team and dismissed talk of a rift in the West Wing. Outside advisers have also pushed back against the negative coverage of the vice president, saying her main objective is advancing the administration’s agenda.

“The president relies on the vice president for her advice, for her counsel,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. “She is somebody who is not only taking on issues that are challenging, she is not looking for a cushy role here. No vice president, no president is.”

“The president selected the vice president to serve as his running mate because he felt she was exactly the person he wanted to have by his side to govern the country,” Psaki added.

Updated at 8:44 a.m.