Harris to lean on tight team, Obama staff also in running for White House posts

Many Harris aides have worked primarily or entirely for her, not Biden. Harris is said to be also considering several veterans from the administration of Barack Obama, who on Friday endorsed her, as well as some Biden-era heavyweights.

By Josh Wingrove, Peter Martin and Eric Martin

As Kamala Harris prepares to take on Donald Trump, her advisers as Joe Biden’s vice president provide a window into her style and priorities.

Two threads are emerging in the short time since launching her White House run: Many Harris aides have worked primarily or entirely for her, not Biden. And she’s said to be considering several veterans from the administration of Barack Obama, who on Friday endorsed her, as well as some Biden-era heavyweights.

Harris trusts a relatively small group of staff that she sees as loyal, and that circle can change, including when particular subjects are dominating the news. Aides familiar with her working style say she prefers in-depth briefings, asks probing questions and wants to know about her blind spots. Some former aides conceded Harris is demanding, driven in part by high expectations and heightened scrutiny she faces as the first Black, woman vice president.

Here’s a look at the people in her orbit as she moves to reshape the campaign and form the nucleus of a potential new administration, according to people familiar with her efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and unpredictable personnel issues.

Key staff

Biden and Harris share some similarities — they rely on a tight circle of trusted aides and use family as a sounding board. Harris’ top staff is a mix of Washington veterans and longtime hands.

Print production specialist Aaron Miller cuts a run of 100 yard signs in support of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign at the Gloo Factory in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. July 25, 2024.

Lorraine Voles, her chief of staff for official business in the vice president’s office, and Sheila Nix, her counterpart on the campaign, are largely overseeing her shift to become the Democratic nominee. On messaging, communications director Kirsten Allen has been with Harris for years. Brian Fallon, Hillary Clinton’s chief spokesman from her 2016 run, is leading Harris’ campaign communications effort.

National Security Advisor Phil Gordon is one of Harris’ longer-serving aides, and she also maintains ties with his predecessor, Nancy McEldowney. Gordon, who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations, was McEldowney’s deputy before ascending to the top job.

Harris’ former economic advisers, BlackRock Inc. veteran Mike Pyle and Deanne Millison, remain close with the vice president. Biden’s former National Economic Council Director, Brian Deese, will retain an advisory role with the now-Harris-led campaign. 

Harris’ domestic policy adviser is Kristine Lucius, who served as a chief of staff for Harris in the US Senate. Lucius and predecessor Rohini Kosoglu remain close allies, as does former counsel Josh Hsu, who has left for the private sector.

Her Campaign

With the campaign she inherited rapidly changing course under a new nominee, Harris is turning to high-profile figures outside the Biden orbit as she weighs running mates. 

Eric Holder, Obama’s attorney general, is leading vetting efforts of the candidates. The campaign said Thursday the selection process has “has begun in earnest” but otherwise declined to comment on the status of the search. Her allies have also approached Jim Messina, who managed Obama’s 2012 reelection, about taking a role. 

Harris is also said to be in talks with Jim Margolis — a veteran of her 2019 primary campaign — to work on advertising, a role held by Mike Donilon, a top Biden aide who’s said to be departing that position. 

Harris allies have been in touch with David Plouffe, another Obama adviser, about a potential role, according to people familiar with the matter.

Adding big names to her campaign would further crowd the top: Julie Chavez Rodriguez is the campaign manager and was the clear authority until Biden sent Jennifer O’Malley Dillon from the White House earlier this year to serve as campaign chair and effectively run the operation. Harris has retained both.

Cabinet Connections

Harris has kept her operations as vice president largely separate from Biden’s, and is said to not have particularly close ties with his Cabinet.

If Harris needs to reach the West Wing, she calls Biden or White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, people said. Biden is an influence on foreign policy in particular, some of the people said, while National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is also said to have built ties with Harris and her team.

Harris has traveled frequently with some figures, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. Their recent trips, including to the battleground states of Georgia and Wisconsin, were aimed at touting the administration’s drive to improve access to capital and investment in under-served communities — policy areas both Harris and Adeyemo have shown special interest in.

Family

Harris, like Biden, relies on family for grounding and political advice. That includes husband Doug Emhoff, who’s an active campaigner in battleground states and a prominent voice against antisemitism. 

The possible “first gentleman” also offers messaging advice. Harris earlier this year recalled Emhoff telling her that rattling off a long list of accomplishments in speeches feels “like a CVS receipt” and urged her to pare it down. Harris’ sister, Maya, chaired her 2019 primary campaign. Harris’ brother-in-law, former Justice Department official Tony West, is also known to provide counsel.