GET TO KNOW YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
November 2023: Vice President Kamala Harris
This month, we’re taking a look at Vice President Kamala Harris’s career in public service—from California to the White House.
In California • Specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases as a District Attorney in San Francisco • As California Attorney General, oversaw the largest state justice department in the U.S. for eight years • Won a $20 billion settlement for Californians whose homes had been foreclosed on • Won a $1.1 billion settlement for students and veterans who were taken advantage of by a for-profit education company • Fought the big banks to recover over $900 million in pension funds that state workers had earned Vice President Kamala Harris meets with members of the IBEW Local 743 apprenticeship program in Pennsylvania.
Sources: oag.ca.gov/history, accessed 11/13/2023; KQED, 5/27/2016; Los Angeles Times, 3/23/2016; Chicago Tribune, 2/4/2015
In the U.S. Senate • Served on the Select Committee on Intelligence, working with members of both parties to keep the American people safe from foreign threats • Crafted bipartisan legislation to secure American elections • Represented the U.S. in meetings with world leaders and always made time to meet with U.S. service members • Served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and participated in hearings for two Supreme Court nominees Vice President Harris poses with workers in Philadelphia.
Sources: NPR, 8/12/2020; 23ABC News Bakersfield, 12/19/2018
In the White House • In 2020, became the first woman, Black American, and South Asian American to be elected Vice President • Played a key role in securing the passage of President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is improving roads, bridges, and schools across America • Driving the Administration’s efforts to protect the freedom to vote and expand workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain • Leading the charge to protect women’s rights by supporting women in the workforce, addressing the maternal health crisis, and defending reproductive rights Sources: The Independent, 4/19/2021; Associated Press, 2/7/2022; White House Fact Sheet, 3/29/2023
Vice President Harris discusses maternal health with a constituent.
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