Kamala Harris Dubbed as 'Toxic' and a 'Bully' as Only Four Employees Remain From 47 Hired

As Kamala Harris prepares to take the White House after being declared the Democratic presidential nominee by POTUS Joe Biden, she lacks a strong team to back her efforts. According to the Daily Mail, her office's turnover rate since she became vice president is an astounding 91.5 percent, according to an analysis released by government group Open The Books (OTB). As of March 2024, only 4 of the 47 employees Harris hired upon taking office in 2021, were still employed. “Chaos reigns on the vice president’s staff,” OTB founder Adam Andrzejewski, stated. “Our auditors at OpenTheBooks quantified an extraordinarily high 91.5-percent staff turnover rate.”

“Furthermore, the turnover chaos isn’t getting better. In the trailing 12-month period, 24 staffers left — that’s almost half the employees,” Andrzejewski added, as reported by The Federalist. “The VP’s rejection makes her the least transparent elected office holder in the country,” he previously penned in a 2021 Forbes article. “Citizens ought to be concerned that the person next in line for the presidency is so unwilling to disclose how she spends their money.” Since 2021, The Washington Post has interviewed eighteen employees from her office who complained about a toxic workplace. 'Uncomfortable' and 'soul-destroying' were the terms they used to describe their experience working with Harris. 

Additionally, when Harris was California's attorney general in 2010, similar allegations were made. According to Barbara O'Connor, a professor at California State University, Sacramento, students who interned under Harris frequently came back to her weeping and complaining that they "felt under-valued." Former State Operations Director, Kelly Mehlenbacher, also wrote a scathing resignation letter in 2019, according to The New York Times. "I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly," she opined.

She added, "It is not acceptable to me that we encouraged people to move from Washington, DC to Baltimore only to lay them off with no notice. Morale has never been lower." Two years later, in June 2021 Politico published a controversial article titled 'Not a healthy environment': Kamala Harris’ office rife with dissent, that outlined the concerns of 22 staffers, citing low morale and a lack of trust among aides and senior officials in the workplace. 

Gil Duran, an ex-aide who worked with Harris while she was Attorney General, also quit office within five months. Another revealing 2019 opinion piece, by Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, Terry McAteer in The Union stated that during her incessant berating of staff members and other people, Senator Harris frequently used 'F-bombs' and foul language. Her staff was terrified of her throughout the day. Additionally, Harris allegedly also gave her staff the order to stand when she arrived at work each morning, and greet her with "Good morning General."

McAteer's son, Gregory worked with Harris for a short stint as a summer intern. According to McAteer, his son was also told that only senior staff members were permitted to speak to Harris directly or look her in the eye. In light of the same, it is interesting to note that while appearing on actress Drew Barrymore's talk show in May, Harris portrayed herself as a kind-hearted boss. "It's really important to be around people who love you, who are about you, and who are going to be honest with you," she said.