Biden threatened to fire Harris' staffers if he found they were spreading negative stories about VP: book
A reported excerpt of a new book reveals drama behind the scenes in the White House
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A new book exploring White House drama reveals that reports of dissatisfaction with Vice President Kamala Harris resulted in President Biden threatening to fire anyone who leaked stories to the media that made Harris look bad.
According to "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future," an upcoming book by The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, Biden was not pleased after reports of dissatisfaction among Harris' staff came out in June.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In response to such reports, Biden brought senior staff into the Oval Office and told them that if "he found that any of them was stirring up negative stories about the vice president, Biden said, they would quickly be former staff," according to an excerpt of the book reported by Politico.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks as President Biden looks on in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on Feb. 4, 2022. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The first year of the Biden/Harris administration was rife with reports that Harris' staff was unhappy, as well as a seemingly endless string of departures from the vice president's office as aide after aide resigned.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harris’ communications director Ashley Etienne resigned in November to "pursue other opportunities." That came after reports of exasperation between Harris’ office and Biden’s amid lagging approval ratings for Harris.
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two prior to departing for Romania, at Warsaw Chopin International Airport in Poland on March 11, 2022. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
Shortly after Etienne’s departure, Symone Sanders announced she would be departing at the end of the year. Harris’ office said Sanders, a senior adviser and her chief spokesperson, "will be missed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The exits continued into 2022. In January, Vincent Evans, who served as the vice president's deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs for nearly a year, left to become the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Then in February, Kate Childs Graham, Harris' chief speechwriter, left the vice president's office.
Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.