Vice President Harris faces tough decisions on political future
Advisers and allies are privately deliberating Vice President Harris’s next steps as she prepares to leave office Monday facing an uncertain future after an unprecedented year.
Harris, who became the Democratic presidential candidate overnight last July after President Biden suddenly dropped out of the race, could use the next four years to set up a new run for the White House in 2028, when President-elect Trump will be ineligible to run for reelection.
She could also consider a gubernatorial bid in her home state of California, or make her exit from public service altogether.
“There is a debate amongst her advisers right now about whether she should pursue any offices and if so, which ones?” said one Harris ally who has spoken to the vice president in recent weeks.
Harris is keeping her options open, three sources close to the vice president say, but is giving considerable thought to continuing in public service, something she has done for more than two decades.
“Why wouldn't she run again?” a second longtime ally said.
It is a question many of her advisers have repeated in recent weeks, including at a recent black-tie affair held at the Naval Observatory for Harris’s closest advisers and friends last month.
At the December soiree, Harris’s key allies bandied about her options informally. “No one thinks this is it for her in terms of public office,” the ally said. “This is just who she is.”
Since conceding to Trump in November, Harris has kept a low public profile,........
© The Hill
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