Vice President Kamala Harris suffers another loss in her team as her communications director, Jamal Simmons, is poised to leave his position after nearly one year in the role.
“Working for Vice President Harris has been an honor and a privilege,” Simmons said in a statement to POLITICO. “I’m so thankful for the confidence she put in me and I will miss this fantastic team more than anything.”
Scoop: Jamal Simmons, VP Kamala Harris' communications director is leaving his post next month.
— Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) December 2, 2022
Staff was told today in an email. https://t.co/Qz8MPrYm6o
Simmons joined Harris’ team in January, after months of staffing turmoil that saw several communication assistants leave.He helped stabilize the vice president’s team and pushed it to adopt a more offensive posture after a first year beset by missteps and scrutiny.
Harris’s chief of staff, Lorraine Voles, told staff Friday of his coming departure, saying that he had “agreed to come on board for a year.” She thanked Simmons for his leadership and praised his work, saying she “knew he could help me steady the ship” when she recruited him.
Anita Dunn, senior adviser to President Joe Biden, also expressed her gratitude for Simmons in a statement, saying: “Jamal has been a great partner in the vice president’s office and he is a talented member of our White House communications team. He has been a vital driver in communicating the work of the vice president and our shared White House agenda during a very critical year, culminating in history-defying results.”
Since last summer, more than a dozen high-profile personnel have jumped off Harris’ ship. Most recently, her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, announced that she would be leaving her post.
Many speculate that Harris is a hard boss to work for, causing the vice president’s high turnover rates. It’s not uncommon, however, for the vice president to be demanding.
A recent poll revealed that Harris is actually unpopular in her liberal home state of California, with only 35 percent of Californians satisfied with the vice president’s performance, while 45 percent disapprove of her, according to the survey conducted by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
This comes after several policy-related mishaps by Harris, from neglecting the southern border crisis to coming unprepared at a NATO conference.
