MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Is Pete Buttigieg replacing Kamala Harris as VP? Capitol Hill 'whispers' point to SHOCKER

Kamala Harris made history when she became the first woman and first Black and Asian American person to be appointed as vice president

President Joe Biden may be secretly plotting to replace Kamala Harris as vice president of the United States, according to "whispers" across Capitol Hill as reported by a Fox News correspondent. Meanwhile, there's speculation that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is being viewed as a viable candidate for the spot.

Fox News anchor Jesse Watters told viewers on Tuesday night, November 16, that the network's congressional correspondent Chad Pergram had been "hearing whispers suggesting there could be some new high-profile confirmation hearings on the horizon in the House of Representatives.” A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll found that 51 percent of voters disapproved of Harris' job performance while just 28 percent approved. And in a Fox News survey last month, 45 percent of registered voters approved of her performance as vice president and 53 percent disapproved.

RELATED ARTICLES

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris share AWKWARD hug amid rift rumors as trolls slam 'grifters'

Joe Biden vs Kamala Harris: Trouble in paradise as White House rocked by infighting

“Why is this a big deal?” Watters continued. “Because the House does not confirm normal nominees, but it does confirm vice-presidential nominees. Does this have something to do with Kamala Harris?” The host also referenced recent rumors about tensions between the president and the vice president's teams.

“There is a lot of conjecture right now about the future of Vice President Harris and her lagging poll numbers," Pergram told Watters. “Here is a window into my world. As you know, I appreciate congressional process and mechanics. So I got a message recently from someone who knows Capitol Hill very well and they suggested I should familiarize myself with the process to confirm a vacancy for the vice president in the Senate and in the House," the congressional correspondent continued.

“To be clear — to be clear — this is not something to say that something is afoot here, but I always do my homework especially about process, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller who served under President Ford, was the last vice president confirmed by Congress. The Senate and House must confirm a vice president,” Pergram added.

Harris made history at the start of this year when she became the first woman and first Black and Asian-American person to be appointed as vice president. It was considered quite the political revival for the former US senator from California, who exited her presidential bid in 2020 even before the first nominating contest due to plunging poll numbers.

Over time, however, some Democrats have grown anxious about Harris' performance and future prospects, adding that Biden has not done any favors for his number 2. She was tasked with several hot-button issues, including spearheading the battle against Republican-led voting restrictions and addressing the crisis at the southern border. And while the circumstances may not have favored the vice president, some believe she deserves some of the blame for her political problems.

Harris was recently mocked after her trip to Latin America in June, when she sat for an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, who pressed her on why she had not yet been to the border. Harris retorted, “And I haven’t been to Europe,” adding, “And I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border.” She eventually visited the border after being needled by Republicans on the immigration crisis and being dubbed the "border czar".

On the other hand, Buttigieg's growing media presence and back-to-back TV appearances promoting the infrastructure plan have been coupled with rumors on the Hill. Many believe that Biden may choose to replace Harris with the former South Bend Mayor, albeit the latter's lane is not without its own hazards, per The Washington Post. Republicans have continued to rip Buttigieg over the current backlog of seaborne goods destined for the United States. “It’s not like he’s having a rosy time. He’s having to figure out the supply chain issue,” Former South Carolina state legislator Bakari Sellers told the newspaper.

Buttigieg was recently mocked for infusing his transportation policies with a description of their impact on communities of color, with whom he suffered low favorability during his presidential bid last year. At the White House on Monday, November 15, the transportation secretary claimed that highway underpasses had sometimes been deliberately built low to prevent buses with Black or Latino passengers from getting to a beach. “That obviously reflects racism that went into those design choices,” he commented, before being mocked by Republicans as a claim that even roads are racist.

Nonetheless, his popularity has grown considerably within the ranks of his own party. “I like his courage — I like his backbone,” Gilda Cobb-Hunter, former president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, told the Post. “He doesn’t shrink away from a fight, and I like that.”