Kamala Harris is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 49th vice president of the United States since 2021, under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, African American, and South Asian American vice president in United States history.
Kamala started her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and later worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the City Attorney of San Francisco’s Office. In 2003, she was elected District Attorney of San Francisco. She then served as California’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2017 and as a U.S. Senator from California from 2017 to 2021.
As a senator, Harris focused on issues like gun control, the DREAM Act, cannabis legalization, healthcare, and tax reform. She became well-known for her questioning during Senate hearings, especially those involving Trump administration officials.
Harris ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out before the primaries. Biden chose her as his running mate, and they won the 2020 election against Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Harris and Biden were inaugurated on January 20, 2021. In her role as vice president, Harris has cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate, helping to pass significant legislation like the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act.
After Biden’s decision not to run for re-election in 2024, Harris launched her presidential campaign with his support. 1wikipedia
Kamala Harris Wiki/Bio
Kamala Iyer Harris was born on 20 October 1964 in Oakland, California, USA and she is 59 years old as of 2023. She holds American nationality and follows the Christian faith. Her zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Kamala Harris Education
Kamala Harris graduated from Westmount High School in 1981. She then studied at Howard University in Washington and graduated in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics. Kamala attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1989. She was admitted to the California Bar in 1990.
“America has a deep and dark history of people using the power of the prosecutor as an instrument of injustice,” she wrote in her memoir. “But I also knew that what was wrong with the system didn’t need to be an immutable fact. And I wanted to be a part of changing that.” 2cnn
Kamala Harris Parents
Kamala Devi Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a biologist from India who researched breast cancer. Her father, Donald J. Harris, was a professor emeritus of economics from Jamaica. They met at UC Berkeley and got married in 1963, She also has a sister Maya.
Kamala’s parents divorced when she was seven. She and her sister were raised by their mother, who exposed them to both African American and Indian cultures.
MY MOTHER WOULD LOOK AT ME AND SHE’D SAY, ‘KAMALA, YOU MAY BE THE FIRST TO DO MANY THINGS, BUT MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT THE LAST.’” 3whitehouse
Kamala Harris Husband & Children
Kamala Harris dated California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and in 2001, she dated talk show host Montel Williams.
In 2013, Harris met her husband, Doug Emhoff, on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. Emhoff is a Jewish entertainment lawyer. They married on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California. Harris is stepmother to Emhoff’s two children, Cole and Ella, from his previous marriage.
Harris is a Baptist and a member of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, as well as The Links, a social and service organization for prominent Black American women. 4wikipedia
Kamala Harris’ Career Journey
In the 1990s, Kamala was a deputy district attorney in Oakland, focusing on gang violence, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse cases. She became district attorney in 2004 and was elected attorney general of California in 2010, the first woman and African American to hold the position.
She gained recognition for her independent stance, such as pushing for a higher settlement in a mortgage lawsuit against lenders and opposing Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. 5 Whitehouse
In 2012, Harris’s speech at the Democratic National Convention boosted her national profile. She married attorney Douglas Emhoff in 2014. In 2016, she won the U.S. Senate seat and became the first Indian American and second Black woman in the Senate. Known for her tough questioning in Senate hearings, she drew attention for her scrutiny of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Harris announced her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but withdrew in December 2019. She became a prominent advocate for social justice reform after George Floyd’s death in May 2020. Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate in August 2020, making her the first Black woman on a major party’s national ticket. They won the election in November 2020.
During the transition, Trump and his supporters challenged the election results, but the claims were dismissed. Harris and Biden’s win was certified by Congress on January 6, 2021, despite a violent attack on the Capitol. Harris resigned from the Senate on January 18 and was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2021.
As vice president, Harris focused on issues like migration from Latin America, voting rights, and women’s access to abortion. She became a strong advocate for reproductive health care and highlighted these themes during Biden’s 2024 campaign. 6britannica
The committee assigned to Kamala Harris
- Committee on the Budget
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management
- Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
- Select Committee on Intelligence
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Subcommittee on the Constitution
- Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights, and Federal Courts
- Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
Honors of Kamala Harris
- In 2005, the National Black Prosecutors Association gave Kamala Harris the Thurgood Marshall Award, and Newsweek listed her as one of “20 of America’s Most Powerful Women.”
- In 2008, The New York Times mentioned her as a potential future president, calling her a “tough fighter.”
- Time magazine included Harris in its list of the 100 most influential people in 2013, 2020, and 2021.
- In 2016, she received the Bipartisan Justice Award with Senator Tim Scott. Harris and Joe Biden were named Time’s Person of the Year in 2020.
- Harris was featured in the first Forbes 50 Over 50 list in 2021, highlighting influential people over 50.
- She received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Southern California in 2015 and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Howard University in 2017, where she also gave the commencement speech. 7wikipedia
Kamala Harris’ Net Worth
Kamala Harris has received significant support from prominent Democrats. As Vice President, she earns an annual salary of 218,000 US Dollars and her net worth is around 8 million dollars, according to Forbes. 8time
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