Vice President Kamala Harris is making the most of her boss's vacation.
Harris is traveling the country this week holding high-profile events on the economy and other major issues while President Biden takes a summer break in Delaware, offering Democrats a reminder of her importance to the party's 2024 ticket.
It's a rare moment alone in the spotlight for Harris, who has struggled to break through in her role as Biden's vice president. But she has become a more prominent voice of late, and now Harris is seizing the moment as Biden enjoys a beach vacation in Delaware
"It's an opportunity for Vice President Harris to be front and center in a way that can't really be the case if President Biden's at the White House making headlines," said Christopher Devine, a political science professor at the University of Dayton and expert on the vice presidency.
The vice president's packed schedule this week is part of what a White House official called Harris' "summer blitz" to "engage with key constituencies."
Harris started the week by criticizing states with restrictive abortion bans in an interview with ABC News that aired Monday. States that passed laws limiting access to abortion services "don't trust women to be able to know what's in their best interests," Harris said.
"It is critically important that we understand this is not some intellectual debate," Harris said. "Every day in America, there are people suffering, silently suffering in many cases."
Tuesday, Harris traveled to Orlando, Florida to deliver a major speech at the African Methodist Episcopal Women's Missionary Convention. Harris used the occasion to continue her war of words with Florida Governor and 2024 Republican candidate Ron DeSantis over the state's new Black history education standards.
"We will not stop calling out and fighting back against extremist so-called leaders who try to prevent our children from learning our true and full history," Harris said.
The comments furthered Harris' feud with DeSantis over the new education standards, which include a mandate teaching students that "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied to their personal benefit."
Harris had previously slammed the new curriculum during a visit to Florida last month. The standards were approved by the Florida Board of Education after the Republican-controlled state legislature passed legislation backed by DeSantis limiting how schools teach about issues of race and identity.
The law was one of several conservative measures approved under DeSantis on issues of diversity and inclusion that have helped turn him into a Republican Party star and contender for the 2024 nomination.
The vice president's initial criticism drew a sharp response from DeSantis, who accused Harris of driving a "fake narrative" around Florida's school curriculum. DeSantis, who is running second behind former President Donald Trump in 2024 Republican primary polls, later challenged Harris to a debate on Black history. Harris rejected the offer in her speech Tuesday in Orlando.
"There is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: There were no redeeming qualities of slavery," Harris said.
Harris' public confrontation with DeSantis and leadership on issues around abortion and race will energize key voting blocs on the left, including Black, female, young and college-educated voters, said Ron Lester, a Democratic strategist.
"In terms of connecting with [key Democratic] voters on the issues, she's right on point," Lester said of Harris.
While she's popular with most Democrats, Harris remains deeply unpopular with Republicans. Her job approval rating overall remains mired around 40 percent in most polls, mirroring Biden's low job approval numbers. Biden's current approval rating is similar to Trump's at this point in Trump's presidency. Jimmy Carter is the only president in the last eight decades with a lower job approval rating than Biden's through this point in their first term, according to Gallup.
Critics have argued Harris hasn't distinguished herself on major policy issues during her tenure as vice president. Harris' meeting Wednesday with Mongolia's Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene underscored the limits of her policy portfolio as vice president, even when Biden is on vacation.
Like past presidents, Biden has reserved major international summits and meetings with key U.S. allies for himself, leaving Harris to travel abroad on less high-profile assignments or host leaders of smaller countries like Mongolia that don't play a large role in shaping global affairs.
Still, the dynamics between Biden and Harris aren't new, said Devine, the author of two books on the vice presidency and national elections.
"A vice president is always constrained by what the administration will let them do," Devine said. "That's always a position where you're deferring to the president."
Lester and other Democrats argued the criticism Harris faces is driven in part by sexism and racism surrounding her role as the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president. Harris has been an important behind-the-scenes figure in shaping the infrastructure law and some of the administration's other legislative achievements, Lester said.
Harris will highlight the administration's infrastructure investments Thursday at an event in Wisconsin alongside Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The vice president will follow the Thursday event with remarks Friday on the economy and jobs, wrapping up her busy week as Biden winds down his vacation.
Her growing prominence ahead of 2024 signals Biden views her as an important asset going into the election, Devine said.
Now "is the time for her to step into the spotlight," Devine said.
