Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the first Vice President of the United States, in the most diverse government in history, and will play a leading role over the next four years.
As the running mate for President-elect Joe Biden, she helped end Donald Trump’s troubled administration. During the campaign, Kamala Harris confronted him for his anarchic handling of the pandemic, riots over racial injustice and his strict anti-immigration measures.
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Harris, 56, enters the White House after cutting a unique path. She was the first black woman elected to attorney general in California and the first woman of South Asian descent in the Senate.
As Vice President, she will be one step closer to leading the United States.
Given that the 78-year-old Biden is expected to serve only one term, Harris will be in a unique position to win the nomination for the Democratic presidency four years later.
“Even if I were the first woman in the position, I wouldn’t be the last,” Harris said in a speech on November 7, the first after US networks presented Biden and Harris as winners to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
While the vice president’s job is often seen as ceremonial, Harris will also have a powerful critical role in the US Senate.
Thanks to two Democratic victories in this month’s run-off in Georgia, the Senate will be divided evenly: 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.
This means that Harris could spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill serving as the swing vote on a number of important issues, from the judicial candidates to Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan.
In contrast to Biden’s tenure as vice president in the Obama administration, where he became a second secretary of state in charge of disputes, Harris is expected to play a pivotal role in domestic politics.
Both of Harris’ parents are immigrants. His father came to the United States from Jamaica and his mother, now deceased, from India and their lives were marked by the narration of the “American Dream”.
It was the start of an impressive career as a public prosecutor, which led to her being elected twice to the position of attorney general in San Francisco and then to the attorney general of California in 2010.
But her talk of being a “progressive prosecutor” has been questioned by critics who say she has fought to endorse flawed rulings and opposed reforms in California, such as a law that urged the attorney general to investigate shootings involving the policeman.
With information from Victor Hugo Rico
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