(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Despite juggling multiple hats — from border, artificial intelligence, and gun control czar — Vice President Kamala Harris managed to break a record that exposes Senate Democrats’ unwillingness to work with Republicans to pass legislation.
Harris cast her 32nd tie-breaking partisan vote on Tuesday, making her the vice president with the most tie-breaking votes in U.S. history, surpassing John C. Calhoun.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrated this contentious feat by presenting the embattled vice president with a gold gavel. However, such an achievement likely represents the partisanship embroiling the U.S. Senate.
“This is a historic day,” Schumer proclaimed in the company of Harris. “The record Vice President Harris sets today is significant not just because of the number but of what she’s made possible.”
Watch the moment I presented a golden gavel to @VP Harris as she made history with the most tie-breaking votes of any Vice President ever! pic.twitter.com/Xxrzzo4Sz9
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 5, 2023
Schumer boasted that Harris has been a central figure in advancing the legislative goals of the Biden administration. Among the feats cited by Schumer included the contentious Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Harris celebrated the feat, claiming that due to her vote, Senate Democrats have confirmed 161 federal judges. “I’m truly honored and proud,” Harris said.
Echoing both Harris and Schumer, the White House issued a statement, hailing the tie-breaking votes as “consequential” within the Biden administration
“The Vice President’s tie-breaking votes have been consequential in moving the Biden-Harris agenda forward over the last three years,” the White House remarked in a press statement, according to Politico.
It added, “These tie-breaking votes have helped deliver for the American people by lowering costs for American families, creating good-paying jobs in local communities, and providing economic relief for small businesses across the country.”
.@VP Kamala Harris cast her record 32nd tie-breaking vote in the Senate to advance the nomination of Loren AliKhan to be a U.S. district judge.
The record was previously held by John C. Calhoun, who served as VP from 1825 to 1832 under Presidents Quincy Adams and Jackson. pic.twitter.com/zMSwyjGOTH
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 5, 2023
Harris’s latest vote came to advance Biden’s nomination of lawyer Loren AliKhan as U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., opposed AliKhan’s nomination and joined Republicans in an attempt to block the nomination.
Harris is likely to return for the final confirmation of AliKhan, Politico reported Tuesday.
Since Biden took office in 2021, Harris has faced challenges in effectively addressing a specific policy agenda. Initially, she was tasked with addressing the illegal immigration chaos at the southern border, but later in the year, she was appointed to oversee the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence.
Most recently, she has been appointed as a gun control czar, a move that drew sarcastic praise from Republicans who celebrated her perceived inability to move the Biden agenda.
