Kamala Harris faced a barrage of questions about the failed voting rights legislation, 2022 midterms, COVID and weak polling during less-...
Kamala Harris faced a barrage of questions about the failed voting rights legislation, 2022 midterms, COVID and weak polling during less-friendly-than-usual network interviews airing Thursday morning on the one year anniversary of her and President Joe Biden's inauguration.
She suggested during a Today show interview that the administration is concerned about the 2022 midterms being fair after the two pieces of voting legislation were blocked by Republicans on Wednesday.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Biden was asked if the midterm elections would be 'legitimate' and he said that 'it all depends,' likely referencing whether the voting rights package passed later that evening, which it did not.
'Is [Biden] really concerned that we may not have fair and free elections?' Today host Savannah Guthrie asked the vice president.
'The president has been consistent on this issue,' Harris said. 'And the issue is that there are two bills – the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act – that have been the solution that has been offered to address the fact that around our country, states have put in place laws that are purposely making it more difficult for the American people to vote,' Harris explained.
She said the laws failing would be felt by 55 million Americans from all political parties and of all socioeconomic persuasions.
Guthrie and Harris then got into a cross-talk match where the vice president asked to be able to finish her statement before the host was able to push her on the matter.
'The specific question, if you don't mind – does he think, now that these bills haven't been passed, that the '22 midterms won't be legitimate or fair or free?' Guthrie pressed.
'Let's not conflate issues,' Harris responded before trying to walk back on suggesting there may be concerns over the fairness of the midterm elections.
White House Press Secretary was forced into clean up duty Thursday morning as she tried to backtrack on what Biden said Wednesday and what Harris reiterated in her Wednesday morning media blitz.
'Lets be clear: @potus was not casting doubt on the legitimacy of the 2022 election,' Psaki tweeted. 'He was making the opposite point: In 2020, a record number of voters turned out in the face of a pandemic, and election officials made sure they could vote and have those votes counted.'
She continued: 'He was explaining that the results would be illegitimate if states do what the former president asked them to do after the 2020 election: toss out ballots and overturn results after the fact. The Big Lie is putting our democracy at risk. We're fighting to protect it.'
The vice president also laughed off a question about whether the administration believes they have the coronavirus pandemic under control in a separate interview Thursday morning with CBS Mornings.
Vice President Kamala Harris faced a barrage of questions on failed voting rights legislation, bad poll numbers, broken COVID promises and whether the 2022 election will be fair in a round of interviews Thursday morning – on the one year anniversary of her inauguration
Harris refused to answer questions posed by Today show host Savannah Guthrie (left) on if Democrats are partly to blame for the voting rights package failing in the Senate on Wednesday evening and seems to suggest that she and President Biden are concerned the 2022 midterms will not be fair without the legislation in place
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was forced to do damage control Thursday morning, insisting that the president and vice president are not casting any doubt on the legitimacy of the 2022 elections
'Let's talk about COVID because you all ran on, 'We are going to get COVID under control, we are going to get this licked.' As we sit here today, we're going into year three, still talking about COVID,' CBS host Gayle King said to Harris.
'So it is not under control,' she continued. 'So I'm wondering what is your strategy here? And have you come to the point that we have all got to figure out how to live with COVID?'
'So I'm going to try to unpack the various –' Harris started before King cut in with: 'I know there's a lot.'
At that point Harris laughed before continuing: 'But, they're important points.' She also admitted that there is still more work to be done, but did not expand on what the administration plans to do to tackle the prevailing pandemic.
Harris has faced a slew of criticism for laughing at inappropriate times during interviews and remarks, including when talking about COVID and the southern border crisis.
On Thursday, Harris was faced with contentious interactions that she has not yet faced as vice president with networks usually friendly to Democrat administrations. At several points she had to ask hosts to allow her to finish answering her question instead of being cut off.
Harris laughed when CBS Mornings host Gayle King (left) asked Thursday morning if the administration believes they have the coronavirus pandemic 'under control'
Republican were able to block Democrats in a 49-51 vote from limiting debate on voting rights package, which allowed them to use the filibuster to continue to put off the legislation getting a vote
When asked specifically about voting rights legislation, which was defeated Wednesday evening in the Senate, the vice president deflected to listing initiatives that were passed in Year One, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.
'The president put a lot of blame yesterday on Republicans for failure to get some of these key initiatives passed. But, you know, you have a 50-50 tie in the United States Senate, as you are well aware. Did the administration fail to temper its initiatives to meet political reality?' Today host Savannah Guthrie asked Harris.
'In other words, should you have been more willing to compromise to try to get all Democrats on board? These initiatives failed because Democrats weren't united, let alone Republicans. Was that an error as you look back on this year?'
'Well, when I look back on this year, I think about things like the bipartisan infrastructure law. Administrations, both Democrat and Republican, have tried for years –' Harris started before being cut off.
'Well, doesn't that show Republicans were willing to help if the initiatives were good?' Guthrie posed.
Harris shot back: 'Please let me finish.'
In the same interview, Harris refused to answer and dodged several questions on whether President Joe Biden believes the 2022 midterm elections will be fair now that the voting rights package failed to pass the Senate.
At a few points during the back-and-forth with Guthrie, Harris asked the Today show host to allow her to finish answering questions, despite the deflective nature of them.
When pushed by King in her CBS interview, Harris also deflected when asked what the administration will do to continue pushing voting rights legislation.
'I know it was a very long night in the Senate last night,' King said. 'As expected, the voting rights legislation did not pass last night, in part because of two of your own party members. But the president says he can take action to protect the voting rights. What specifically are you going to do?'
After the vice president gave a long answer about why voting rights are important, King further pushed for a direct answer.
'So what are you going to do? I mean, you all have laid out the case very nicely about what's at stake. And now we're here, and it didn't pass. What will you do?' she reiterated.
'What we will do is we will keep fighting to get the legislation passed because that is critical,' she laid out. 'So we are not giving up on that.'
'And then it is a matter of continuing to do the work of executive orders, doing the work through the Department of Justice, which has been litigating these cases in the various states because we believe that they are a violation of the spirit of the Constitution of the United States. It is going to be about continuing to elevate this conversation.'
Biden suffered a stinging defeat Wednesday night as Senate Democrats failed to advance their voting rights legislation in yet another major blow to the president's domestic agenda.
'I am profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy. I am disappointed — but I am not deterred,' Biden wrote in a statement late Wednesday.
He was handed another blow the same night as Democratic centrist Senators Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona joined all 50 Republicans to thwart their own party in changing Senate rules to overcome a Republican filibuster after a raw, emotional debate.
Harris was standing by to break a 50-50 tie, but the rules change was rejected in a 52-48 vote, and Harris left before the final roll call.
Democrats needed 60 votes in order to end debate and initiate a vote on the legislation that would overhaul U.S. voting laws.
The package combined two separate legislative items that were already passed by the House — the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bills would make Election Day a holiday, adjust the redistricting process and crack down on money in politics.
'Every member of the United States Senate—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—takes an oath to preserve and protect our Constitution. It is their duty to safeguard our democracy and secure the freedom to vote,' Harris wrote in a Wednesday evening statement on Republicans blocking the legislation.
'Yet today, Senators voted to preserve an arcane Senate procedure rather than secure that fundamental freedom,' she continued. 'The American people will not forget this moment. Neither will history.'
The Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act together would make Election Day a federal holiday, expand access to mail-in voting and strengthen Justice Department oversight of local election jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.
Republicans oppose federal laws on voting, arguing elections should be run on a state level. Democrats are pushing the bills to combat a slew of new laws in GOP-controlled states that they claim hurt voting rights access, particularly among people of color, and would help nullify election results.
The two pieces of legislation were combined into a single bill. The House passed the single bill on Thursday and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Because the bill will be categorized as a 'message between the houses,' Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can skip the 60-vote threshold needed to start debate, allowing him to bypass Republicans' vow to filibuster.
That will allow debate to begin on the legislation. However, it doesn't guarantee the legislation will get passed. When debate on the bill concludes, Schumer will still need 60 votes to file cloture to end debate on the bill - that means he needs 10 GOP senators on board.
Republicans can use their filibuster power to stop the legislation its tracks
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