Kamala Harris’ bad luck is turning

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Jan 20, 2023 View in browser   By Katelyn Fossett POLITICO illustration/Photos by Getty Images/iStock Good morning, rulers! I saw the trailer for Yellowjackets, season 2, come up on my timeline, and boygenius is out with a few new songs (and a cool Rolling Stone cover that references a Nirvana cover.) In other words, 2023 is shaping up to be not so bad. Thanks to Sophie Gardner for helping to put this newsletter together! Vice President Kamala Harris got off to a bumpy start, as this newsletter's archives can attest. In June 2021, amid a storm of criticism of the vice president, I asked whether Harris had been pushed off a "glass cliff"—essentially being set up to fail — with a portfolio of issues that seemed destined to only divide the Democratic base and fan criticism of her from Republicans. Later, in November 2021, USA TODAY and Suffolk University came out with a strikingly low approval rating for Harris: 28 percent, lower even than Vice President Dick Cheney, who had previously been known as the least popular vice president in modern history.At the time, I spoke with Eugene Daniels, POLITICO White House correspondent and Playbook author, about why her approval rating is so low. Now, for some good news about Harris: She was a big winner of the midterms. In an article this week, Daniels writes that a combination of factors has taken some of the scrutiny off her, taken away some of her Washington obligations and allowed her to be seen, well, mostly as a more typical vice president. "She no longer is tied to the whims of an evenly split Senate, where she had been called to cast more than two dozen tie-breaking votes," Daniels writes. "And they [allies and aides] say she no longer feels her every move is being eyed in the context of a potential 2024 Harris presidential campaign since her boss is highly likely to seek another term." Now that Biden is likely running in 2024, she's being treated more like a "normal vice president," in the words of one aide in the article, which comes with much less negative press coverage. Since the fall, Harris' trajectory appeared to be improving to political observers. "People around her feel like she's been able to exert more independence and has started in earnest to dig out from the painful early months marked by uneven performances and staffing troubles," Daniels wrote in November. It was also around that time that Harris embraced becoming the administration's voice on abortion rights, which, while hot-button, could be a less politically tricky issue to take on than those in her initial profile, which included immigration and voting rights. Abortion rights united Democrats in the midterms and even split some Republican voters. Now, less constrained by the Senate schedule, Harris has traveled around the country to discuss climate change and infrastructure outside of Washington, too. Connecting big-dollar infrastructure projects to the lives of everyday Americans is an area where Harris could really excel, one source told Daniels. On Sunday, Harris will travel to a state to give a speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The only downside? With less negative coverage comes less coverage in general, which is typical for vice presidents. "Part of the nature of the job of vice president is if you're doing a good job, we don't hear much about you," Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who is close to Harris, told Daniels back in early November. "That is a challenge in and of itself, because then people don't know as much about what you're doing." Still, for now, the less harsh glare seems to be more comfortable for Harris, giving her space to work on issues she cares about — and maybe even prepare for what's next, in 2024 and after.   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: More than 800,000 women are still missing from workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Women's Law Center. So, what must happen to improve the future of work for women? POLITICO Focus connected with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to discuss driving positive change. Read more here.   POLITICO Special Report Kerry Marshall/Getty Images "Jacinda Ardern resigns as New Zealand's prime minister," by Zoya Sheftalovich for POLITICO: "New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will resign from the top job "no later" than February 7, she announced on Thursday at a press conference at her party's annual caucus meeting, saying she didn't have 'enough in the tank' to continue. "Ardern, who became the youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 aged 37, confirmed New Zealanders will head to the polls for a national election on October 14 this year, and that she would not stand for reelection." She Fixes Cars. Can She Fix Congress' Elitism Problem?" by Natalie Fertig for POLITICO: "[Rep. Marie] Gluesenkamp Perez gave a bracing critique of her party's deeply out-of-touch approach to the middle class, why the party's leaders seem to be making that problem worse, not better, and how closing the widening gap between the party's brain trust and its blue-collar roots can be accomplished by reconnecting Americans with our lost ability to "fix your own shit." Number of the Week Read more here.   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: In The Round: A conversation on the new rules of work.   MUST READS Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo "Top UN female envoys meet Taliban in Kabul to discuss ban on women aid workers" by Teele Rebane and Sophie Tanno for CNN: "Some of the United Nations' most senior female officials have been meeting Taliban leaders in Kabul to discuss the ban on female aid workers, as Afghanistan battles famine and poverty. "In December the Taliban ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations to stop their female employees from coming to work or risk having their NGO licenses revoked. At least half a dozen major foreign aid groups have temporarily suspended their operations in Afghanistan as a result. … "UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous met with the Taliban officials on Wednesday. They had previously met with groups of Afghan women in Ankara and Islamabad, as well as a group of envoys to Afghanistan based in Doha to address the ban on female aid workers, and affirm 'the need to continue to deliver lifesaving support.'" "Her 5th-grade idea was a monument to women. It just became law," by Petula Dvorak for The Washington Post. "Ardern's resignation resonates for women in power," by Kate Lamb, Lucy Craymer and Kanupriya Kapoor for Reuters: "The shock resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who altered the face of global politics when she was elected the world's youngest female head of state, throws a spotlight on the demands faced by women in power. … "During her time in office, Ardern has not been afraid to break the mould, becoming the first prime minister since Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto to have a baby in the job and then take maternity leave." "In Michigan, Democratic women are rising. Now some are weighing a Senate run," by Colby Itkowitz for The Washington Post. Quote of the Week Read more here. Transitions Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Executive Director of Caring Across Generations, has joined the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' (CBPP) Board of Directors. … Naomi Seligman, who helped launch Media Matters and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is joining Whistleblower Aid as their first VP of external affairs. … Marian Currinder is joining Freedom House as the new director for U.S. democracy. She was most recently a professional staff member on the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. … Liz Charboneau will be the new VP of research at American Bridge 21st Century. She previously was head of the Bridge to Democracy research program in the 2022 cycle. (h/t Playbook) … Estephania Gongora will be director of operations for the House Ways and Means Committee under Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.). Previously, she was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton and is a Trump White House and State alum. … Ying-Ying Goh is now Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy fellow for VP Kamala Harris. She is director and health officer of the Pasadena, Calif., Public Health Department and a pediatrician (h/t Playbook).   Sponsored by Business Leader members of Women Rule: The Exchange: When it comes to the state of work, there's good news and bad news for women. Research from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org, found that female leaders are leaving their employers at never-before-seen rates, often in exchange for opportunities that prioritize flexibility and wellbeing, along with diversity, equity and inclusion. And yet, more than 800,000 women are still missing from workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Women's Law Center.  Now, business leaders and employees alike are considering what's next. What must happen next to improve the future of work for women? POLITICO Focus sat down with members of Women Rule: The Exchange to discuss how women are driving change in the workplace, and what organizations and policymakers can do to join them. Read on to learn what needs to happen to help all women thrive at work.     Follow us on Twitter Katelyn Fossett @KatelynFossett   Follow us

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