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Vice President Kamala Harris has received a lot of criticism over her performance as “border czar,” but, according to a new book, it is not a role she wanted.
An excerpt of “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future,” reported by Politico explores tension between Harris and President Biden over her role related to several Central American countries.
HARRIS TEAM ANGRY OVER VOGUE COVER, LACK OF RESPECT: BOOK
“Harris was resigned to the assignment,” the book says, adding that the vice president did not want to be referred to as “border czar” and “did not hesitate to chide Biden for characterizing her assignment in those terms.”
Harris’ assignment of handling matters related to the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador had been part of Biden’s portfolio when he was vice president in the Obama administration, but the massive influx of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border had brought a greater complexity to the region than what Biden had dealt with in that role.
As a result, that assignment had often been lumped together with immigration, both by the public and the president himself, which, according to the book, Harris did not appreciate.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in support of changing the Senate filibuster rules on the grounds of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University on Jan. 11, 2022, in Atlanta.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
In one reported instance, Biden and Harris met with the Congressional Black Caucus and the president said Harris would do “a hell of a job” handling immigration. This led to Harris correcting Biden “at once,” noting that her assignment was the Northern Triangle, not immigration.
Fox News reached out to the White House for comment on this, but they did not immediately respond.
Harris traveled to Honduras in late January to meet with new Honduran President Xiomara Castro. According to the White House, the two discussed a number of issues, including “addressing the root causes of migration, combating corruption, and expanding economic opportunity.” The two also addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, as well as “gender-based violence.”
