Politico is reporting that there’s more trouble between President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, this time over Harris’ refusal to appear in a video with her boss championing his extension of student debt relief:
The Harris-Biden student debt divide https://t.co/6lbLh27aws via @politico
— Ray Long (@RayLong) May 4, 2022
Apparently, Harris was “concerned about being tied long term to a policy that won’t be as progressive/forgiving as she wants it to be”:
NEW — Harris decided against cutting a video with Biden on the student debt cancellation extension, concerned about being tied long term to a policy that won’t be as progressive/forgiving as she wants it to be, @mstratford and @AlexThomp report.https://t.co/xIQcjjBlnR
— Sam Stein (@samstein) May 5, 2022
From Politico:
Early in April, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS’ office began collaborating with the White House on a social media video to promote the administration’s extension of its pause on federal student loan payments.
Harris’ office then decided against it, according to two White House officials familiar with the matter.
Ultimately, President JOE BIDEN released his own video and Harris issued a statement about the policy. It was a shift from December — the last time the administration extended the pause — when Harris and Biden both filmed social media videos about the extension that came down then and worked with advocates of student debt cancellation.
She’s Selina Meyer. Really, she is:
Amazing. Team player https://t.co/Zb5H3PTmFS
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 5, 2022
We agree with this. We’re no fans of Joe Biden, but this is just an incredible move on her part:
A Vice President who is unwilling to enthusiastically back *any* policy decision by the President should resign.
I’m no Biden fan, but Biden deserves better. https://t.co/FePmf5sgqI
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) May 5, 2022
And it does smell of Harris thinking more about being the nominee in 2024 than anything else:
She thinks she has a long-term 😂😂😂 https://t.co/YFFT4awgKN
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) May 5, 2022
Politico also reported that she’s afraid of being tied to Biden on student loan forgiveness because he’s “resisting” lobbying from progressives:
Privately, Harris has advocated for additional loan forgiveness. One White House source said her office seemed initially eager to participate in the administration’s public dialogue around student loans. But conscious of progressives pushing Biden to unilaterally cancel tens of thousands of dollars in student debt and that Biden is resisting such lobbying, the vice president has been increasingly wary of becoming part of the public face of the administration’s response.
She’s kneecapping the president and on the wrong side of the issue. Harris really is a special kind of politician:
Student debt cancellation isn’t really a progressive policy at all if working class Americans are expected to fund it. It’s another massive upward wealth transfer. The only way it would be truly fair is if universities themselves had to fund it, alongside reforms to the system. https://t.co/6XvHhc7v6o
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) May 5, 2022
On the bright side, the 2024 Dem primary to replace Biden will be good for our traffic, especially with Harris acting this way:
There are a lot of unprincipled politicians in DC, but it's almost funny extent to which the only thing Harris cares about is advancing her political career. Every policy she adopts and decision she makes is guided almost exclusively by that. https://t.co/OArldzgtx3
— AG (@AGHamilton29) May 5, 2022
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