Ex-Biden Staffers Clash With New Staff in Harris Campaign
GROWING PAINS
Leah Millis/Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris’ new crop of campaign staffers are reportedly clashing with some Biden holdovers, with Jen O’Malley Dillon feeling alienated, according to six people familiar with the situation who spoke to Politico. O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign manager and currently Harris’, is fighting to maintain her legitimacy and authority as David Plouffe, Obama’s 2008 campaign chair, was picked up as a “senior adviser for path to 270 and strategy” by Harris last week. Harris’ top brass told the Biden holdovers that Plouffe, along with new hires, would be “additive,” yet Plouffe’s role seems to clash with O’Malley Dillon’s. Ill-defined roles such as director of digital strategy, occupied by Rob Flaherty who is also a deputy campaign manager, has also been an issue. Flaherty reportedly cut an ad that had too many Black women in it, which one campaign official who spoke with Politico feared, narrowed Harris’ appeal. The campaign then outsourced the remake of the video to the DNC, which then outsourced the remake to another firm, according to Politico.