Vice President Kamala Harris assumed control of the presidency when Joe Biden went under anesthesia after being admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday.
But that wasn’t the only big news from the Harris camp.
Harris’ Communications Director Ashley Etienne suddenly quit on Friday morning. Etienne is expected to formally leave at the end of next month.
NEW: A WH official confirms @VP Kamala Harris’ Comms Director Ashley Etienne will be leaving her office in December to “pursue other opportunities.”
— Tim Perry (@tperry518) November 18, 2021
“Ashley is a valued member of the Vice President’s team, who has worked tirelessly to advance the goals of this administration,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News. “She is leaving the office in December to pursue other opportunities.”
The shakeup comes after reports of escalating tensions between Harris and Biden.
Harris reportedly feels underused and her staff is upset over her public image amid Harris’ tanking poll numbers.
The rumors have grown so loud that Harris went on ABC News on Thursday to deny them.
“I’m very, very excited about the work that we have accomplished,” Harris said in an interview aired on ABC’s Good Morning America. “But I am also absolutely, absolutely clear-eyed that there is a lot more to do, and we’re gonna get it done.”
Biden has tasked Harris with addressing the crisis at the southern U.S. border, COVID-19 vaccinations, and other issues. Last week, she was in France, part of a U.S. effort to mend relations with America’s oldest ally over a secretly negotiated U.S.-British submarine deal with Australia.
Some media reports have suggested tensions in the West Wing over Harris’ job performance and suggested she feels sidelined.
Asked directly by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos if she feels “misused or underused,” Harris denied the reports.
“No, I don’t.”
The White House has also tried to quell the rumors. “The president selected the vice president to serve as his running mate because he felt she was exactly the person you wanted to have by his side to govern the country,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “She is a key partner. She’s a bold leader. And she is somebody who has taken on incredibly important assignments.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this article