Chief of Staff of Kamala Harris leaves job

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The chief of staff for Vice President Kamala Harris is leaving her job.

The announcement that Tina Flournoy was leaving for personal reasons was made on Thursday, The Washington Post reported.

“Tina has been a valued advisor and confidant to me and a tremendous leader for the office,” the vice president said. “From day 1, she led our team during a historic first year as we made progress rebuilding our economy here at home and our alliances around the world. Tina is the consummate public servant and I will continue to rely on her advice, counsel, and friendship.”

“Tina has been a critical member of the White House team since day one, working with the President and Vice President to make their partnership effective and help the administration deliver on critical priorities,” President Joe Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain said. “Her experience, wisdom, and hard work have been instrumental to our success on many issues.”

In early December, the Washington Post published a lengthy report and quoted several current and former staffers who were frustrated with her.

“It’s clear that you’re not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,” a former staffer said. “With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”

But even The Washington Post noted the high turnover rate Harris has had with staffers before and during her time as vice president.

Flournoy’s departure is likely to revive career-long questions about Harris’s management style and the high frequency of staff turnover in her offices and on her campaigns. The move comes at a critical moment since the upcoming midterm elections — especially if Democrats suffer losses as expected — could clarify whether President Biden will seek reelection and prompt renewed attention on Harris as an alternative.

Harris aides say the departures are routine and unrelated to any internal strife in the vice president’s operation. Some also suggest that she is facing disproportionate — and at times unfair — criticism because of her role as a powerful woman of color…

Still, the high turnover in Harris’s office stands in stark contrast to the West Wing, where Biden’s inner circle has remained in place throughout his presidency — and much of his decades-long career.

Weeks ago, Harris’ deputy chief of staff Michael Fuchs announced that he will be leaving next month, the Washington Examiner reported.

The outlet noted that “Fuchs — a senior State Department official under former President Barack Obama, foreign policy adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress before joining the Biden administration last year — advised Harris on a range of domestic and international issues since taking office.”

In an internal staff memo, Fuchs wrote that he plans to leave by early May, according to Reuters, which was sent a copy of the communique.

He offered praise for the Biden administration generally and added that he’ll reveal his future plans at a later date. Harris’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Examiner.

“Harris is bringing on a new chief speechwriter, Meghan Groob, who was a senior speechwriter in the Obama administration. Groob most recently worked at Gates Ventures and was a speechwriter to Bill Gates, according to a separate memo seen by Reuters,” the outlet reported. “The vice president’s previous chief speechwriter left her office at the end of February.”

Fuchs is just the latest Harris staffer to depart since she took office on January 20, 2021. Last month Sabrina Singh, Harris’ deputy press secretary, called it quits.

Her leaving marked the “latest high-profile departure from the vice president’s office, which suffered a turbulent first year due to missteps and messaging failures,” noted CNN, adding: “She will join the Department of Defense.”

“Ernesto Apreza, Harris’ senior adviser for public engagement, will become deputy press secretary and is expected to focus on engaging local and state press, as well as specific key coalition groups. Apreza previously served on the Biden-Harris campaign, as well as on the then-mayor of Seattle’s staff,” the report continued.

In February, VP’s chief speechwriter, Kate Childs Graham, put in her resignation.

One source told Fox News: “Kate is leaving the office, but not the family. The vice president is grateful for her service to the administration.”

“We are excited for her next step,” the source added.

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