Vice President Kamala Harris’s communications director will go away his publish subsequent month after only a yr on the job, the newest in a collection of high-level departures from her workplace.
Jamal Simmons, a veteran Democratic aide who beforehand labored for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential marketing campaign and extra just lately as a contributor to CBS News and The Hill, joined the veep’s crew in January to exchange Ashley Etienne, who departed in November of final yr to pursue “other opportunities.”
“Working for Vice President Harris has been an honor and a privilege,” Simmons told Politico. “I’m so thankful for the confidence she put in me and I will miss this fantastic team more than anything.”
An email obtained by the Hill from Harris’s chief of workers, Lorraine Voles, mentioned that Simmons’s spouse accepted a place in New York and their household will transfer there “in the near future.”
“Because of his deep respect for the Vice President, he agreed to come on board for a year,” Voles’s electronic mail added, in line with the Hill.
Simmons was tasked with enhancing Harris’ picture after a collection of missteps and markedly excessive workers turnover marred her first yr in workplace.
A collection of studies final yr depicted Harris as a troublesome boss to work for, with some former aides describing her administration fashion as “soul-destroying” and saying their major job was “propping up a bully.”
A December 2021 Washington Post expose on Harris’s workplace quoted former vice presidential aide Gil Duran as saying that staffers “pretend they’re retiring for positive reasons.”
Duran additionally claimed that Harris’s “destructive patterns” had been behind the exit of each Etienne and one other former high aide, Symone Sanders.
A June 2021 piece in Politico mentioned Harris’ workplace was “chaotic” with a “tense and at times dour” ambiance.
“People are thrown under the bus from the very top, there are short fuses and it’s an abusive environment,” the outlet quoted one supply, who added that “people feel treated like s–t.”
Despite Simmons’ greatest efforts, a current Economist/YouGov poll confirmed Harris’ approval score caught on simply 40% amongst registered voters, whereas 55% disapproved of the job she was doing as VP.
