Kamala Harris takes quick, unexplained California trip: reports
Harris departed Friday afternoon from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and flew to Palm Springs, east of Los Angeles, reports said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Southern California on Friday for a quick trip but the White House was mum about the reason behind it, according to a report.
Harris departed Friday afternoon from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and flew to Palm Springs, a resort town about 107 miles east of Los Angeles, The Washington Times reported.
The vice president was scheduled to return to Washington on Saturday, the White House said in a statement, according to the newspaper.
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Harris and husband Douglas Emhoff own a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles but the White House said Harris would be spending the night in Palm Springs at an unspecified location, according to the Times.
Reporters were not permitted to watch Harris depart from Maryland, the Times reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs Singapore to Vietnam, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Associated Press)
No public events were on Harris’ schedule for her time in California and no local Democrats in California reported any plans to meet with Harris, according to the newspaper.
Harris’ plane landed at Palm Springs International Airport just after 7 p.m. Friday PT, The Desert Sun newspaper of Palm Springs reported. A heavy law enforcement presence was in the area, the paper reported.
Palm Springs Mayor Christy Gilbert Holstege tweeted out a welcome to Harris on Friday but the message offered no clues about the purpose of the vice president's visit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since March, when she was appointed to manage the Biden administration’s response to the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, Harris has faced steady criticism from Republicans for not visiting the border region – save for a brief trip to El Paso, Texas, in June.
But over that same time Harris has made several trips to her home state of California, including on successive weekends between the end of June and early July.
Earlier this month, Harris campaigned for California Gov. Gavin Newsom in San Leandro, near San Francisco, as Newsom was facing a recall election that he ultimately survived to remain in office.
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Friday’s fast trip out West came as Democrats in Congress were trying to advance President Biden’s economic agenda, in the form of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a proposed $3.5 trillion so-called "reconciliation" bill of other spending proposals.
Harris would potentially be needed on Capitol Hill if the Senate were to deadlock on a vote, but lawmakers went another day Friday with no action on the proposals.