Kamala Harris’ office has had a staggering 91.5 percent turnover rate since she became vice president, an investigation from government watchdog organization Open The Books (OTB) revealed on Monday. Of the 47 staff members hired when Harris took office in 2021, only four reportedly remained in her employment as of March 2024.
The report comes as Biden’s X account announced he will “stand down” from his reelection campaign and “fully support” Harris as the new nominee. OTB utilized U.S. Senate disclosures to obtain records from the vice president’s office, including 2021 and 2024 payrolls.
“Chaos reigns on the vice president’s staff,” wrote OTB founder Adam Andrzejewski.“Our auditors at OpenTheBooks quantified an extraordinarily high 91.5-percent staff turnover rate.”
Payrolls provide further insight into the “staff exodus” in Harris’ office. As The Atlantic reported in October 2023, Harris’ communications director, national security adviser, chief of staff, and numerous aides left within a year and a half of her taking office in January 2021.
“Furthermore, the turnover chaos isn’t getting better. In the trailing 12-month period, 24 staffers left — that’s almost half the employees,” Andrzejewski wrote.
OTB’s investigation also revealed budget discrepancies and a lack of transparency from Harris’ office. As Andrzejewski said, “Kamala Harris, Office of Vice President, is committed to the opacity of its payrolls and all other office information.”
When OTB filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for Harris’ staff payroll in September 2021, a spokesman reportedly declined the request and claimed the vice president’s office was not subject to FOIA. When OTB replied with a request for any transparency Harris’ office could provide, the spokesman said Harris did “not have any information to share at this time.”