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{{short description|Vice president of the United States since 2021<!--When she is out of office, per WP:SDDATES, the date format should be "from 2021 to YYYY"-->}}
{{for|the wrestler James "Kamala" Harris|Kamala (wrestler)}}
<!--rm hatnote:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Kamala_Harris/Archive_4#Distinguish_hatnote_with_wrestler_Kamala-->
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Kamala Harris
| image              = Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait.jpg
| image              = Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait.jpg
| caption            = Official portrait (2021)
| caption            = Official portrait, 2021
| alt                =
| office              = 49th [[Vice President of the United States]]
| office              = 49th [[Vice President of the United States]]
| term_start          = January 20, 2021
| president          = [[Joe Biden]]
| president          = [[Joe Biden]]
| term_start          = January 20, 2021
| term_end            =
| predecessor        = [[Mike Pence]]
| predecessor        = [[Mike Pence]]
| jr/sr2             = United States Senator
| jr/sr1             = United States Senator
| state2             = [[California]]
| state1             = [[California]]
| term_start2         = January 3, 2017
| term_start1         = January 3, 2017
| term_end2           = January 18, 2021
| term_end1           = January 18, 2021
| predecessor2       = [[Barbara Boxer]]
| predecessor1       = [[Barbara Boxer]]
| successor2         = [[Alex Padilla]]
| successor1         = [[Alex Padilla]]
| office3             = 32nd [[Attorney General of California]]
| office2             = 32nd [[Attorney General of California]]
| governor3           = [[Jerry Brown]]
| governor2           = Jerry Brown
| term_start3         = January 3, 2011
| term_start2         = January 3, 2011
| term_end3           = January 3, 2017
| term_end2           = January 3, 2017
| predecessor3       = Jerry Brown
| predecessor2       = [[Jerry Brown]]
| successor3         = [[Xavier Becerra]]
| successor2         = [[Xavier Becerra]]
| office4             = 27th District Attorney of San Francisco
| office3             = 27th [[San Francisco District Attorney's Office|District Attorney of San Francisco]]
| term_start4         = January 8, 2004
| term_start3         = January 8, 2004
| term_end4           = January 3, 2011
| term_end3           = January 3, 2011
| predecessor4       = [[Terence Hallinan]]
| predecessor3       = [[Terence Hallinan]]
| successor4         = George Gascón
| successor3         = [[George Gascón]]
| birth_name          = Kamala Devi Harris{{efn|At birth, it was Kamala Iyer Harris. It was corrected two weeks later.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/18/heres-kamala-harris-birth-certificate-end-of-debate/ |first=David |last=Debolt |date=August 18, 2020 |title= Here's Kamala Harris' birth certificate. Scholars say there's no VP eligibility debate|work=The Mercury News|publisher=The MediaNews Group Inc.}}</ref>}}
| birth_name          = Kamala Devi Harris{{efn|name=fn1|She was originally named Kamala Iyer Harris by her parents, who two weeks later filled an [[affidavit]] by which her middle name was changed to Devi.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/18/heres-kamala-harris-birth-certificate-end-of-debate/|first=David|last=Debolt|date=August 18, 2020|title=Here's Kamala Harris' birth certificate. Scholars say there's no VP eligibility debate|work=[[The Mercury News]]|location=San Jose, California|access-date=November 27, 2021}}</ref>}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1964|10|20}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1964|10|20}}
| birth_place        = [[Oakland, California]], U.S.
| birth_place        = [[Oakland, California]], U.S.
| death_date          =  
| death_date          =  
| death_place        =  
| death_place        =  
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Doug Emhoff]]|August 22, 2014}}
| parents            = {{plainlist|
* [[Donald J. Harris]]
* [[Shyamala Gopalan]]
}}
| relatives          = [[Family of Kamala Harris]]
| residence          = [[Number One Observatory Circle]]
| residence          = [[Number One Observatory Circle]]
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| education          = {{plainlist|
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Douglas Emhoff]]|August 22, 2014}}
* [[Howard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| parents            = [[Donald J. Harris]]<br />[[Shyamala Gopalan]]
* [[University of California, Hastings]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| relatives          = [[family of Kamala Harris|Harris family]]
}}
| education          = [[Howard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />University of California, Hastings ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer|author}}
| website            = {{URL|kamalaharris.org|Campaign website}}
| signature          = Kamala Harris Signature.svg
| signature          = Kamala Harris Signature.svg
| signature_alt      = Cursive signature in ink
| website            = {{plainlist|
* {{URL|www.kamalaharris.org|Campaign website}}
* {{URL|www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/|White House website}}
}}
}}
}}
'''Kamala Devi Harris''' (born October 20, 1964) is an [[Americans|American]] [[politician]] and [[lawyer]]. She is the 49th and current [[vice president of the United States]], being the first female ever elected to this office. She served as a [[United States senator]] from [[California]] from 2017 until 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/18/politics/kamala-harris-resignation-san-francisco-chronicle/index.html|title=Harris resigns from the Senate ahead of inauguration|last1=Wright|first1=Jasmine|last2=Duster|first2=Chandelis|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=January 18, 2021|access-date=January 18, 2021}}</ref> Before she took the position of senator, Harris was the [[attorney general]] of California from 2011 to 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar756836|title=Harris, Kamala|last=Shenkman|first=Kenneth|date=2018|website=World Book Advanced|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref>


On January 21, 2019, Harris announced her [[Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign|candidacy]] for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 election]]. She ended her campaign on December 3, 2019. After [[Joe Biden]] won the nomination, he picked Harris as his [[running mate]] for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/biden-vp-pick/index.html|title=Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his running mate|date=August 11, 2020}}</ref> They won the election on November 7 and were inaugurated on January 20, 2021. This made Harris the highest ranking elected woman in American history. Harris is also the first [[Asian Americans|Asian]] and [[African Americans|African American]] vice-president.
'''Kamala Devi Harris'''{{efn|name=fn1}} ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-KamalaHarris4.ogg|ˈ|k|ɑː|m|ə|l|ə|_|ˈ|d|eɪ|v|i}} {{respell|KAH|mə|lə|_|DAY|vee}};<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Ken|date=February 15, 2013|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biggest-2020-election-question-whose-name-will-get-mangled-worst-11550161230|title=You Say 'Ka-MILLA;' I Say 'KUH-ma-la.' Both Are Wrong|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Woodsome|first1=Kate|title=Opinion &#124; You don't need to like Kamala Harris. But you should say her name properly.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgIkcxDvAGE| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211027/dgIkcxDvAGE| archive-date=October 27, 2021|via=YouTube|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 22, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current [[vice president of the United States]]. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first [[African Americans|African American]] and first [[Asian American]] vice president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/harris-indian-roots/index.html|title=Kamala Harris' Indian roots and why they matter|last=Kalita|first=S. Mitra|date=August 12, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=February 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-on-the-move/indian-origin-politicians-around-the-world-918148.html|title=Indian-origin politicians around the world|last=Sudeep|first=Theres|date=November 21, 2020|work=[[Deccan Herald]]|access-date=February 27, 2020}}</ref> A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], she previously served as the [[attorney general of California]] from 2011 to 2017 and as a [[United States senator]] representing [[California]] from 2017 to 2021.
 
Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from [[Howard University]] and the [[University of California, Hastings College of the Law]]. She began her career in the [[Alameda County]] District Attorney's Office, before being recruited to the [[San Francisco District Attorney's Office]] and later the [[City Attorney of San Francisco]]'s office. In 2003, she was elected [[district attorney]] of San Francisco. She [[2010 California Attorney General election|was elected]] Attorney General of California in 2010 and [[2014 California Attorney General election|re-elected in 2014]]. Harris served as the [[Seniority in the United States Senate|junior]] United States senator from California from 2017 to 2021. Harris defeated [[Loretta Sanchez]] in the [[2016 United States Senate election in California|2016 Senate election]] to become the second African American woman and the first [[South Asian American]] to serve in the United States Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kamala D. Harris: US Senator from California|url=https://www.harris.senate.gov/about|access-date=July 29, 2020|publisher=United States Senate|quote=In 2017, Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as a United States senator for California, the second African-American woman, and first South Asian-American senator in history.|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014130548/https://www.harris.senate.gov/about|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Weinberg|first1=Tessa|last2=Palaniappan|first2=Sruthi|date=December 3, 2019|title=Kamala Harris: Everything you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidate|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kamala-harris-latest-democrat-run-president/story?id=60521324|access-date=August 10, 2020|work=ABC News|quote=Harris is the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, and is the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history.}}</ref> As a senator, [[Political positions of Kamala Harris|she advocated for]] healthcare reform, [[Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States|federal de-scheduling of cannabis]], a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the [[DREAM Act]], [[Assault weapons legislation in the United States|a ban on assault weapons]], and [[progressive tax]] reform. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of [[Trump administration]] officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] nominee [[Brett Kavanaugh]], who was [[Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination|accused of sexual assault]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Viser|first=Matt|date=January 21, 2019|title=Kamala Harris enters 2020 Presidential Race|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kamala-harris-enters-2020-presidential-race/2019/01/21/d68d15b2-0a20-11e9-a3f0-71c95106d96a_story.html |access-date=January 22, 2019}}</ref>
 
Harris [[Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign|sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination]], but withdrew from the race prior to [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|the primaries]]. Joe Biden [[2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection|selected]] her as his [[running mate]] and their ticket went on to defeat the incumbent president, [[Donald Trump]], and vice president, [[Mike Pence]], in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 election]]. Harris became vice president upon [[Inauguration of Joe Biden|being inaugurated]] on January 20, 2021, alongside President [[Joe Biden]].
 
== Early life, family and education (1964–1990) ==
{{See also|Family of Kamala Harris}}
 
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California,<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Catherin|last2=Stanton|first2=Zack|date=August 11, 2020|title=55 Things You Need to Know About Kamala Harris|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/11/kamala-harris-vp-background-bio-biden-running-mate-2020-393885|access-date=August 23, 2020|website=Politico|language=en}}</ref> on October 20, 1964.<ref name=":0">{{congbio| id=H001075|accessdate=May 20, 2020|inline=YES}}</ref> Her mother, [[Shyamala Gopalan]], a [[Tamils|Tamil]] [[Indian people|Indian]] [[biologist]], whose work on the [[progesterone receptor]] gene stimulated advances in [[breast cancer]] research,<ref name="bcaction">{{Cite web|date=June 21, 2009|title=In Memoriam: Dr. Shyamala G. Harris|url=https://bcaction.org/2009/06/21/in-memoriam-dr-shyamala-g-harris/|access-date=January 23, 2019|website=[[Breast Cancer Action]]|language=en-US}}</ref> had arrived in the United States from [[India]] in 1958 as a 19-year-old graduate student in nutrition and [[endocrinology]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]];<ref name=NYTimes-Travernise-A>{{cite news | last = Travernise |first =Sabrina |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/second-generation-immigrant-kamala-harris.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815153002/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/second-generation-immigrant-kamala-harris.html |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| title=Kamala Harris, Daughter of Immigrants, Is the Face of America's Demographic Shift | work=New York Times | date=August 15, 2020 | access-date=August 24, 2020|quote=When Kamala Harris's mother left India for California in 1958, the percentage of Americans who were immigrants was at its lowest point in over a century.{{nbsp}}... Her arrival at Berkeley as a young graduate student{{nbsp}}... }}</ref><ref name=LATimes-A>{{cite news | last1 = Bengali |first1 =Shashank |last2=Mason |first2=Melanie|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-10-25/how-kamala-harris-indian-family-shaped-her-political-career | title=The progressive Indian grandfather who inspired Kamala Harris | work=Los Angeles Times | date=October 25, 2019 | access-date=April 24, 2020|quote=In 1958, she surprised them by applying for a master's program at UC Berkeley, a campus they had never heard of. She was 19, the eldest of their four children, and had never set foot outside India. Her parents dug into Gopalan's retirement savings to pay her tuition and living costs for the first year.{{nbsp}}... left to study nutrition and endocrinology at Berkeley, eventually earning a PhD.}}</ref> Gopalan received her PhD in 1964.<ref name=BBC-Biswas-A>{{cite news | last = Biswas |first =Soutik |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53745141 | title=Biden's VP pick: Why Kamala Harris embraces her biracial roots | work=BBC | date=August 11, 2020| access-date=August 24, 2020|quote=Gopalan picked up her doctorate degree at age 25 in 1964, the same year Ms Harris was born.}}</ref> Harris's Jamaican-American father, [[Donald J. Harris]], a [[Stanford University]] professor emeritus of economics, arrived in the United States from [[Colony of Jamaica|British Jamaica]] in 1961, for graduate study at UC Berkeley, receiving a PhD in economics in 1966.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 2, 2010|title=PM Golding congratulates Kamala Harris-daughter of Jamaican – on appointment as California's First Woman Attorney General|publisher=Jamaican Information Service|url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/opm-news/26176-office-Pm-pm-golding-congratulates-kamala-harris-daughter-of-Jamaican-on-appoint|url-status=dead|access-date=February 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115023007/http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/opm-news/26176-officePM-pm-golding-congratulates-kamala-harris-daughter-of-jamaican-on-appoint|archive-date=January 15, 2012}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Stanford University – Department of Economics|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~dharris/professional_career.htm |access-date=May 19, 2020|website=web.stanford.edu}}</ref> Donald Harris met his future wife Shyamala Gopalan at a college club for African-American students (though Indian, Gopalan was allowed to join).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barry |first1=Ellen |title=How Kamala Harris's Immigrant Parents Found a Home, and Each Other, in a Black Study Group |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/us/kamala-harris-parents.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article |access-date=March 23, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=September 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Clarke|first=Chevaz|date=August 14, 2020|title=Get to know Kamala Harris' family|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-family-parents-husband-children/|access-date=August 19, 2020|website=CBS News|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
[[File:Kamala Harris - Berkeley childhood home.jpg|thumb|Harris's childhood home on Bancroft Way in Berkeley]]
 
In 1966, Harris moved to [[Champaign, Illinois]] (where her younger sister [[Maya Harris|Maya]] was born) as her parents took positions at the [[University of Illinois]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kacich |first1=Tom |title=Tom's #Mailbag, Aug. 2, 2019 |url=https://www.news-gazette.com/news/toms-mailbag-aug-2-2019/article_2e901c56-67e8-54d6-a2b4-aa2f087d225f.html |access-date=August 19, 2022 |work=The News-Gazette |date=August 2, 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BerkeleysideHouse">{{cite web |last1=Dinkelspiel |first1=Frances |title=Update: Change in Berkeley law not needed to landmark the childhood home of Kamala Harris |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/03/08/no-changes-needed-in-berkeley-to-landmark-the-childhood-home-of-kamala-harris |website=Berkeleyside |access-date=August 19, 2022 |date=March 8, 2021}}</ref> The family moved around the [[Midwest]], with both parents working at multiple universities in succession over a brief period.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kamala Harris Makes Her Case |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/22/kamala-harris-makes-her-case |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=August 19, 2022 |date=July 12, 2019}}</ref> Harris, along with her mother and sister, moved back to California in 1970, while her father remained in the Midwest.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Horwitz|first=Sari|date=February 27, 2012|title=Justice Dept. lawyer Tony West to take over as acting associate attorney general|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-dept-lawyer-tony-west-to-take-over-as-acting-associate-attorney-general/2012/02/24/gIQAqyBOeR_story.html|access-date=August 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Martinez|first=Michael|date=October 23, 2010|title=A 'female Obama' seeks California attorney general post|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/10/22/california.kamala.harris.profile/ |access-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name="BerkeleysideHouse" /> They stayed briefly on Milvia Street in central [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], then at a [[Duplex (building)|duplex]] on Bancroft Way in [[West Berkeley, Berkeley, California|West Berkeley]], an area often called the "flatlands"<ref name="Berkeleyside" /> with a significant [[African Americans|black]] population.<ref name=Busing /> When Harris began kindergarten, she was [[Desegregation busing|bused]] as part of [[Berkeley Unified School District#Integration policy|Berkeley's comprehensive desegregation program]] to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, a public school in a more prosperous neighborhood in northern Berkeley<ref name="Berkeleyside">{{Cite news|last=Orenstein|first=Natalie|date=January 24, 2019|title=Did Kamala Harris' Berkeley childhood shape the presidential hopeful? Long before she was a 2020 presidential contender, Kamala Harris was a resident of the Berkeley flats and a student at Thousand Oaks.|work=[[Berkeleyside]]|url=https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/01/24/did-kamala-harris-berkeley-childhood-shape-the-presidential-hopeful |access-date=August 12, 2020}}</ref> which previously had been 95 percent white, and after the desegregation plan went into effect became 40 percent Black.<ref name="Busing">{{Cite news|last=Dale|first=Daniel|title=Fact check: Kamala Harris was correct on integration in Berkeley, school district confirms|publisher=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/politics/fact-check-kamala-harris-busing-in-berkeley/index.html|date=June 29, 2019}}</ref>
 
A neighbor regularly took the Harris girls to an [[Black church|African American church]] in Oakland where they sang in the children's choir,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/0819/In-Kamala-Harris-richly-textured-background-a-portrait-of-America-today |last=Bruinius |first=Harry |date=August 19, 2020 |title=In Kamala Harris' richly textured background, a portrait of America today |magazine=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |access-date=August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/5-faith-facts-about-biden-s-vp-choice-kamala-harris-black-baptist-hindu-family |title=5 faith facts about Biden's VP choice Kamala Harris – a Black Baptist with Hindu family |last=Shimron |first=Yonat |agency=Religion News Service |date=August 12, 2020 |work=[[National Catholic Reporter]] |access-date=August 21, 2020 |quote=But because her parents divorced when she was 7, she also grew up in Oakland and Berkeley attending predominantly Black churches. Her downstairs neighbor, Regina Shelton, often took Kamala and her sister, Maya, to Oakland's 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland. Harris now considers herself a Black Baptist.}}</ref> and the girls and their mother also frequently visited a nearby [[The Rainbow Sign|African American cultural center]].<ref name=slaters20>{{cite news |last1=Rissacher |first1=Tessa |last2=Saul |first2=Scott |title=Where Kamala Harris' Political Imagination Was Formed |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/kamala-harris-rainbow-sign-berkeley.html |access-date=November 27, 2020 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=September 14, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Their mother introduced them to [[Hinduism]] and took them to a nearby [[Hindu temple]], where she occasionally sang.<ref name=indiafamily>{{citation | last1 = Gettleman |first1 = Jeffrey |last2=Raj |first2=Suhasini|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/16/world/asia/kamala-harris-india.html | title=How Kamala Harris's Family in India Helped Shape Her Values| work=New York Times | date=August 16, 2020 | access-date=August 17, 2020}}</ref> As children, she and her sister visited their mother's family in Madras (now [[Chennai]]) several times.<ref name="Finnegan-quote">{{cite news|last1=Finnegan|first1=Michael|title=How race helped shape the politics of Senate candidate Kamala Harris|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-ca-harris-senate-20150930-story.html|access-date=December 1, 2018|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 30, 2015}} Quote: "Steeped in Indian culture, Harris and her sister, Maya, now a civil rights lawyer and senior policy advisor to Hillary Rodham Clinton, visited family in Madras on occasion."</ref> She says she has been strongly influenced by her maternal grandfather [[P. V. Gopalan]], a retired Indian civil servant whose progressive views on democracy and women's rights impressed her. Harris has remained in touch with her Indian aunts and uncles throughout her adult life.<ref name=indiafamily /> Harris has also visited her father's family in Jamaica.<ref name="Dolan-Casey">{{cite news|last1=Dolan|first1=Casey|title=How Kamala Harris' immigrant parents shaped her life – and her political outlook|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/10/kamala-harris-president-parents-shyamala-gopalan-donald-harris-berkeley/|access-date=August 14, 2020|work=The Mercury News|date=February 10, 2019|quote=Kamala also visited far-flung family in India and Jamaica as she grew up, getting her first taste of the broader world.}}</ref>
 
Her parents divorced when she was seven. Harris has said that when she and her sister visited their father in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] on weekends, other children in the neighborhood were not allowed to play with them because they were black.<ref name="Finnegan-quote" />
When she was twelve, Harris and her sister moved with their mother to [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], where Shyamala had accepted a research and teaching position at the [[McGill University]]-affiliated [[Jewish General Hospital]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Sam|last=Whiting|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Kamala-Harris-grew-up-idolizing-lawyers-3232851.php|title=Kamala Harris grew up idolizing lawyers|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 14, 2009|access-date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> Harris attended a French-speaking primary school, [[List of Montreal Catholic School Commission schools#Francophone primary schools|Notre-Dame-des-Neiges]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Givhan|first=Robin|date=September 16, 2019|title=Kamala Harris grew up in a mostly white world. She then went to a black university in a black city.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/16/kamala-harris-grew-up-mostly-white-world-then-she-went-black-university-black-city|access-date=August 15, 2020}}</ref> then [[F.A.C.E. School]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/dunlevy-before-westmount-high-kamala-harris-went-to-face/|title=Dunlevy: Before Westmount High, Kamala Harris went to FACE|first=T'Cha|last=Dunlevy|date=November 20, 2020|newspaper=Montreal Gazette}}</ref> and finally [[Westmount High School]]{{efn|Harris has said she struggled with understanding her French immersion, so her mother sent her to an English-speaking school for high school. This would no longer have been possible the next year, when Quebec passed [[Charter of the French Language|a law]] requiring all immigrants who did not previously have English schooling in Quebec to enroll their children in French-speaking schools.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.pressrepublican.com/opinion/columns/kamala-harriss-montreal-experience/article_2123927d-31e2-5a2e-9f5b-8cf4f80959ce.html|title= Kamala Harris's Montreal experience|last=Black|first=Peter|date=August 20, 2020|work=[[Press-Republican]]}}</ref>}}<!--This note is for people who inquire about her foreign language abilities. Mentioning the law gives context about when she transferred and why she does not speak French.--> in [[Westmount, Quebec]], graduating in 1981.<ref name="Dale 2018">{{cite news|last=Dale|first=Daniel|title=U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris's classmates from her Canadian high school cheer her potential run for president|website=Toronto Star|date=December 29, 2018|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/12/29/kamala-harriss-classmates-from-her-canadian-high-school-cheer-her-campaign-for-us-president.html | access-date=July 1, 2019}}</ref> Wanda Kagan, a high school friend of Harris, later told ''[[CBC News]]'' in 2020 that Harris was her best friend and described how she confided in Harris that Kagan had been molested by her stepfather.<ref name=Cbc2020-11-07/> She said that Harris told her mother, who then insisted Kagan come to live with them for the remainder of her final year of high school. Kagan said Harris had recently told her that their friendship, and playing a role in countering Kagan's exploitation, helped form the commitment Harris felt in protecting women and children as a prosecutor. After high school, in 1982, Harris attended [[Howard University]], a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black university]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] While at Howard, she interned as a mailroom clerk for California senator [[Alan Cranston]], chaired the economics society, led the debate team, and joined [[Alpha Kappa Alpha]] sorority.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-election-day/meet-kamala-harris-second-black-woman-elected-u-s-senate-n680726|title=Meet Kamala Harris, the second Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate|last=Owens|first=Donna|date=November 8, 2016|work=NBC News|access-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Howard Alumna Becomes First Woman Elected as California Attorney General|publisher=Howard University|date=December 17, 2010|url=http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2010/20101215HowardAlumnaTrailblazerBecomesFirstWomanElectedasCaliforniaAttorneyGeneral.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112015549/http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2010/20101215HowardAlumnaTrailblazerBecomesFirstWomanElectedasCaliforniaAttorneyGeneral.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 12, 2011|access-date=November 14, 2014}}</ref> Harris graduated from Howard in 1986 with a degree in [[political science]] and [[economics]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Costley|first=Drew|date=July 4, 2017|title=Kamala Harris' life in the political limelight and all the times she made history|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/slideshow/Kamala-Harris-ascent-in-the-Democratic-Party-146589.php|access-date=December 27, 2020|website=[[San Francisco Chronicle|SFGATE]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
Harris then returned to California to attend law school at the [[University of California, Hastings College of the Law]] through its Legal Education Opportunity Program (LEOP).<ref>{{cite news|title=LEOP: Opening Doors for Students of Promise|url=https://www.uchastings.edu/2018/08/14/uc-hastings-2018-magazine-preview-opening-doors-for-students-of-promise/|access-date=August 13, 2020|work=UC Hastings Magazine|date=August 14, 2018}}</ref> While at UC Hastings, she served as president of its chapter of the [[Black Law Students Association]].<ref>{{cite web|title=UC Hastings Congratulates Kamala Harris '89: California's next U.S. Senator|url=https://www.uchastings.edu/2016/11/09/uc-hastings-congratulates-kamala-harris-89-californias-next-u-s-senator/|website=UC Hastings Law|location=San Francisco|date=November 9, 2016}}</ref> She graduated with a [[Juris Doctor]] in 1989<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris '89 Wins Race for California Attorney General|publisher=UC Hastings News Room|date=November 24, 2010|url=http://www.uchastings.edu/media-and-news/news/2010/11/kamala-harris.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130223928/http://uchastings.edu/media-and-news/news/2010/11/kamala-harris.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 30, 2010|access-date=February 2, 2011}}</ref> and was admitted to the California Bar in June 1990.<ref name="Cal. bar">{{cite web|title=Attorney Licensee Profile, Kamala Devi Harris #146672|website=The State Bar of California|url=http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/146672 | access-date= August 1, 2020}}</ref>
 
== Early career (1990–2004) ==
In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy [[district attorney]] in [[Alameda County, California]], where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up".<ref name="latimes-brown-harris" /> In 1994, [[Speaker of the California Assembly]] [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]], who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the [[California]] Medical Assistance Commission.<ref name="latimes-brown-harris">{{cite news|last1=Morain|first1=Dan|title=2 More Brown Associates Get Well-Paid Posts : Government: The Speaker appoints his frequent companion and a longtime friend to state boards as his hold on his own powerful position wanes.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-29-mn-2787-story.html|access-date=July 4, 2020|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 29, 1994|ref=latimes-brown-harris}}</ref> Harris took a six-month leave of absence in 1994 from her duties, then afterward resumed as prosecutor during the years she sat on the boards. Harris's connection to Brown was noted in media reportage as part of a pattern of Californian political leaders appointing "friends and loyal political soldiers" to lucrative positions on the commissions. Harris has defended her work.<ref name="latimes-brown-harris" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Byrne|first=Peter|date=September 24, 2003|title=Kamala's Karma|url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/kamalas-karma/|access-date=August 23, 2020|website=SF Weekly|language=en-US|archive-date=February 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213202115/https://www.sfweekly.com/news/kamalas-karma/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Carlsen |first1=William |last2=Writer |first2=Chronicle Staff |title=Lawmakers put cronies in plum jobs / Big pay, few hours on 3 state panels |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Lawmakers-put-cronies-in-plum-jobs-Big-pay-few-2864693.php |work=SFGate |date=March 10, 2002}}</ref>
 
In February 1998, [[San Francisco District Attorney's Office|San Francisco district attorney]] [[Terence Hallinan]] recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.<ref name="Head">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29091340/sf-examiner-feb-03-1998/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422133402/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29091340/sf-examiner-feb-03-1998/ |url-status=live|title=DA Names New Head of Career Crime Unit|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=February 3, 1998|archive-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> There, she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted [[homicide]], [[burglary]], [[robbery]], and [[sexual assault]] cases{{snd}}particularly [[Three-strikes law|three-strikes cases]]. In 2000, Harris reportedly clashed with Hallinan's assistant, Darrell Salomon,<ref name="TopAide">{{cite news|last=Hartlaub|first=Peter|date=August 21, 2000|title=DA's top aide quits among turmoil (paywalled)|work=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|url=https://sfexaminer.newspapers.com/image/462564871|access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref> over [[2000 California Proposition 21|Proposition{{nbsp}}21]], which granted prosecutors the option of trying [[Minor (law)|juvenile]] defendants in Superior Court rather than juvenile courts.<ref name="Kayo">{{cite news|url=https://www.theava.com/archives/96387|last=Fred|first=Gardener|title=Kamala vs. Kayo (2003)|work=[[Anderson Valley Advertiser]]|location=Boonville, CA|publisher=Bruce Anderson, editor and publisher|date=February 13, 2019}}</ref> Harris campaigned against the measure, which passed. Salomon opposed directing media inquiries about Prop{{nbsp}}21 to Harris and reassigned her, a ''de facto'' demotion. Harris filed a complaint against Salomon and quit.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = August 12, 2020|work=Anderson Valley Advertiser|url=https://www.theava.com/archives/128883|date=June 24, 2020|title=Kayo & Kamala|first=Fred|last=Gardner}}</ref>
 
In August 2000, Harris took a job at [[San Francisco City Hall]], working for [[city attorney]] [[Louise Renne]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.womensradio.com/articles/This-DA-Makes-a-Difference-for-Women/559.html|title=Women's Radio: This DA Makes a Difference For Women|publisher=Womensradio.com|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219095441/http://www.womensradio.com/articles/This-DA-Makes-a-Difference-for-Women/559.html|archive-date=December 19, 2010}}</ref> Harris ran the Family and Children's Services Division representing child abuse and [[Child neglect|neglect]] cases. Renne endorsed Harris during her D.A. campaign.<ref name="SF Weekly 09/24/2003" />
 
In 2001, Harris briefly dated [[Montel Williams]]. Addressing the relationship, Williams [[tweeted]] in 2020, "Kamala Harris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris".<ref name=ie-harris>{{cite web|url=https://www.insideedition.com/kamala-harris-once-dated-talk-show-host-montel-williams-55097|title=Kamala Harris Once Dated Talk Show Host Montel Williams|website=Inside Edition|date=August 8, 2019|access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref>
 
== District Attorney of San Francisco (2004–2011) ==
{{See also|Electoral history of Kamala Harris}}
[[File:Congresswoman Pelosi meets San Francisco's District Attorney, Kamala Harris; March 30, 2004 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Harris in 2004 with California congresswoman [[Nancy Pelosi]]]]
 
In 2002, Harris prepared to run for [[District Attorney]] of San Francisco against Hallinan (the incumbent) and Bill Fazio.<ref name="Launched">{{cite news|last=Kruse|first=Michael|date=August 9, 2019|title=How San Francisco's Wealthiest Families Launched Kamala Harris|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/08/09/kamala-harris-2020-president-profile-san-francisco-elite-227611}}</ref>
Harris was the least-known of the three candidates<ref>{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Nina|title=Why Kamala Matters|url=http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/why-kamala-matters|access-date=May 12, 2015|work=San Francisco Magazine|date=August 2007 |archive-date=February 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215203550/http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/why-kamala-matters}}</ref> but persuaded the [[California Democratic Party#County central committees|Central Committee]] to withhold its endorsement from Hallinan.<ref name="SF Weekly 09/24/2003">{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Byrne|title=Kamala's Karma|newspaper=San Francisco Weekly|access-date=July 4, 2020|date=September 24, 2003|url=https://www.sfweekly.com/news/kamalas-karma/|archive-date=February 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213202115/https://www.sfweekly.com/news/kamalas-karma/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Harris and Hallinan advanced to the general election [[Two-round system|runoff]] with 33 and 37 percent of the vote, respectively.<ref name=Ousts>{{cite news|first1=Alison|last1=Soltau|first2=Ethan|last2=Fletcher|title=Harris ousts veteran Hallinan|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=December 10, 2003}}</ref>
 
In the runoff, Harris pledged never to seek the death penalty and to prosecute [[Three-strikes law|three-strike offenders]] only in cases of violent felonies.<ref name="sfgate.com">{{cite news|first1=Jaxson|last1=VanDerbeken|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/New-D-A-promises-to-be-smart-on-crime-Harris-2831205.php|title=New D.A. promises to be 'smart on crime' / Harris speaks well of Hallinan, will continue some of his policies|work=SFGate|date=January 9, 2004}}</ref> Harris ran a "forceful" campaign, assisted by former mayor Willie Brown, Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]], writer and cartoonist [[Aaron McGruder]], and comedians [[Eddie Griffin]] and [[Chris Rock]].<ref name=Sunset>{{cite news|first=Adriel|last=Hampton|title=Harris stumps in the Sunset|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=July 28, 2003}}</ref><ref name=Celebs>{{cite news|first1=J.K.|last1=Dineen|first2=Adriel|last2=Hampton|title=Clinton Tops List of Celebrity Supporters|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/462679876/|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=December 9, 2003}}</ref> Harris differentiated herself from Hallinan by attacking his performance.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Demian|last1=Bulwa|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Harris-puts-D-A-on-trial-Performance-not-2525471.php|title=Harris puts D.A. on trial / Performance, not philosophy, an issue|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=December 6, 2003}}</ref> She argued that she left his office because it was technologically inept, emphasizing his 52-percent conviction rate for [[felony|serious crimes]] despite an 83-percent average conviction rate statewide.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Demian|last1=Bulwa|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Harris-defeats-Hallinan-after-bitter-campaign-2546323.php|title=Harris defeats Hallinan after bitter campaign|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=December 10, 2003}}</ref> Harris charged that his office was not doing enough to stem the city's gun violence, particularly in poor neighborhoods like [[Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco|Bayview]] and the [[Tenderloin, San Francisco|Tenderloin]], and attacked his willingness to accept [[Plea bargaining in the United States|plea bargains]] in cases of [[domestic violence]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Demian|last1=Bulwa|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Harris-slams-Hallinan-on-city-s-gun-violence-2512358.php|title=Harris slams Hallinan on city's gun violence / D.A. candidate points to bus shooting victim|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=November 12, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Demian|last1=Bulwa|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/No-holds-barred-debate-in-D-A-race-2547137.php|title=No-holds-barred debate in D.A. race|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=December 5, 2003}}</ref> Harris won with 56 percent of the vote, becoming the first [[person of color]] elected as district attorney of San Francisco.<ref name=NYTimes-Zernike-2-2019>{{cite news|first=Kate|last=Zernike|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/kamala-harris-progressive-prosecutor.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211111631/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/kamala-harris-progressive-prosecutor.html |archive-date=February 11, 2019 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title='Progressive Prosecutor': Can Kamala Harris Square the Circle?|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>
 
Harris ran unopposed for a second term in November 2007.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news|first=Heather|last=Knight|title=Kamala Harris celebrates unopposed bid for district attorney|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kamala-Harris-celebrates-unopposed-bid-for-3301780.php|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=November 7, 2007|access-date=February 2, 2011}}</ref>
 
=== Public safety ===
==== Non-violent crimes ====
[[File:Kamala Harris during her term as District Attorney of San Francisco.png|thumb|Harris as San Francisco district attorney]]
 
In the summer of 2005, Harris created an environmental crimes unit.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jason B.|last=Johnson|title=D.A. creates environmental unit: 3-staff team takes on crime mostly affecting the poor|url=https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-D-A-creates-environmental-unit-2666667.php|access-date=May 4, 2020|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=June 1, 2005}}</ref>
 
In 2007, Harris and city attorney [[Dennis Herrera]] investigated San Francisco supervisor [[Ed Jew]] for violating residency requirements necessary to hold his supervisor position;<ref name="sfexaminer.com">{{cite news|title=Ed Jew surrenders for felony arrest, out on bail|url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/ed-jew-surrenders-for-felony-arrest-out-on-bail/|access-date=May 2, 2020|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=June 13, 2007}}</ref> Harris charged Jew with nine felonies, alleging that he had lied under oath and falsified documents to make it appear he resided in a [[Sunset District]] home, necessary so he could run for supervisor in the 4th district.<ref name=Buchanan>{{cite news|first=Wyatt|last=Buchanan|title=Former S.F. supervisor pleads guilty to federal extortion, bribery, plans to accuse others|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Former-S-F-supervisor-pleads-guilty-to-federal-3190636.php|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=October 11, 2008}}</ref> Jew pleaded guilty in October 2008 to unrelated federal corruption charges (mail fraud, soliciting a bribe, and extortion)<ref name=Buchanan />
and pleaded guilty the following month in state court to a charge of perjury for lying about his address on nomination forms, as part of a plea agreement in which the other state charges were dropped and Jew agreed to never again hold elected office in California.<ref name="CotéNov2008">{{cite news |first=John |last=Coté |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Ex-Supe-Ed-Jew-guilty-of-lying-about-residence-3184347.php |title=Ex-Supe Ed Jew guilty of lying about residence |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=November 19, 2008 }}</ref> Harris described the case as "about protecting the integrity of our political process, which is part of the core of our democracy".<ref name="CotéNov2008" />
For his federal offenses, Jew was sentenced to 64 months in federal prison and a $10,000 fine;<ref name="CotéApr2009">{{cite news |first=John |last=Coté |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Former-S-F-supervisor-sentenced-to-prison-3166615.php |title=Former S.F. supervisor sentenced to prison: Ed Jew dealt 64 months in prison for shakedown |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=April 4, 2009 }}</ref> for the state perjury conviction, Jew was sentenced to one year in county jail, three years' probation, and about $2,000 in fines.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/more-jail-time-for-ed-jew/1873439/ |access-date=September 21, 2020 |title=More Jail Time for Ed Jew |work=NBC Bay Area |date=April 22, 2009 }}</ref>
 
Under Harris, the D.A.'s office obtained more than 1,900 convictions for [[marijuana]] offenses, including persons simultaneously convicted of marijuana offenses and more serious crimes.<ref name=FactCheckMJ>{{cite news|first=Casey|last=Tolan|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/11/kamala-harris-prosecuting-marijuana-cases/|title=Campaign fact check: Here's how Kamala Harris really prosecuted marijuana cases|newspaper=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=September 11, 2019}}</ref> The rate at which Harris's office prosecuted marijuana crimes was higher than the rate under Hallinan, but the number of defendants sentenced to state prison for such offenses was substantially lower.<ref name=FactCheckMJ />
Prosecutions for low-level marijuana offenses were rare under Harris, and her office had a policy of not pursuing jail time for marijuana possession offenses.<ref name=FactCheckMJ />
Harris's successor as D.A., [[George Gascón]], expunged all San Francisco marijuana offenses going back to 1975.<ref name=FactCheckMJ />
 
==== Violent crimes ====
In the early 2000s, the [[City and County of San Francisco|San Francisco]] murder rate per capita outpaced the national average. Within the first six months of taking office, Harris cleared 27 of 74 backlogged homicide cases by settling 14 by [[plea bargain]] and taking 11 to trial; of those trials, nine ended with convictions and two with hung juries. She took 49 violent crime cases to trial and secured 36 convictions.<ref>{{cite news|first=Alison|last=Soltau|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/462412693/?terms=kamala%2Bharris%2Bconviction%2Brate|title=New DA claims higher success rate vs. violent felons|newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]]|date=July 21, 2004|page=4|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> From 2004 to 2006, Harris achieved an 87-percent conviction rate for homicides and a 90-percent conviction rate for all felony gun violations.<ref>{{cite news|first=Bonnie|last=Eslinger|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/462434036/?terms=kamala%2Bharris%2Bconviction%2Brate|title=SF's Felony conviction rate improves|newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]]|date=September 15, 2006|page=4|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref>
 
Harris also pushed for higher [[bail]] for criminal [[defendant]]s involved in gun-related crimes, arguing that historically low bail encouraged outsiders to commit crimes in San Francisco. [[San Francisco Police Department|SFPD officers]] credited Harris with tightening the [[loophole]]s defendants had used in the past.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jaxon |last=Van Derbeken |url= https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Trials-and-tribulations-of-Kamala-Harris-D-A-2521498.php |title= Trials and tribulations of Kamala Harris, D.A. / 2 years into term, prosecutor, police have their differences |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date= March 20, 2006 |access-date= March 9, 2019}}</ref> In addition to creating a gun crime unit, Harris opposed releasing defendants on their own recognizance if they were arrested on gun crimes, sought minimum 90-day sentences for possession of concealed or loaded weapons, and charged all assault weapons possession cases as felonies, adding that she would seek prison terms for criminals who possessed or used assault weapons and would seek maximum penalties on gun-related crimes.<ref name="Garofoli">{{cite news |last=Garofoli |first=Joe |url= https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-D-A-vows-to-go-after-gun-law-2755194.php |title=D.A. vows to go after gun law violators / Harris takes tough approach, pledges maximum penalties|newspaper= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=May 29, 2004 |access-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref>
 
Harris created a Hate Crimes Unit, focusing on [[hate crime]]s against [[LGBT]] children and teens in schools.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://kamalaharris.org/MarriageEquality |title=Marriage Equality |publisher= Kamalaharris.org |access-date= November 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101125112342/http://kamalaharris.org/MarriageEquality |archive-date= November 25, 2010}}</ref> In early 2006, [[Gwen Araujo]], a 17-year-old American Latina [[transgender]] teenager, was [[Murder of Gwen Araujo|murdered by two men]] who later used the "[[gay panic defense]]" before being convicted of second-degree murder. Harris, alongside Araujo's mother Sylvia Guerrero, convened a two-day conference of at least 200 prosecutors and law enforcement officials nationwide to discuss strategies to counter such legal defenses.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/462922087/ |title=Harris challenges 'gay panic' strategy |page=4 |date=July 5, 2006 |newspaper= [[The San Francisco Examiner]]}}</ref> Harris subsequently supported A.B. 1160, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act, advocating that California's penal code include jury instructions to ignore bias, sympathy, prejudice, or public opinion in making their decision, also making mandatory for district attorney's offices in California to educate prosecutors about panic strategies and how to prevent bias from affecting trial outcomes.<ref name="AB 1160" />
In September 2006, California governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] signed A.B. 1160 into law; the law put California on record as declaring it contrary to public policy for defendants to be acquitted or convicted of a [[lesser included offense]] on the basis of appeals to "societal bias".<ref name="AB 1160">{{cite web |title=Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act |url= https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200520060AB1160 |website= California Legislative Information |date=September 28, 2006 |access-date =June 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hemmelgarn">{{Cite news |last1=Hemmelgarn |first1=Seth |last2=Laird |first2=Cynthia |title=Ten years later, Araujo's murder resonates |newspaper= [[The Bay Area Reporter]] |date=October 4, 2012 |url= https://www.ebar.com/news///242932 |access-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref>
 
In August 2007, state assemblyman [[Mark Leno]] introduced legislation to ban gun shows at the [[Cow Palace]], joined by Harris, police chief [[Heather Fong]], and mayor [[Gavin Newsom]]. City leaders contended the shows were directly contributing to the proliferation of illegal guns and spiking homicide rates in San Francisco. (Earlier that month Newsom had signed into law local legislation banning gun shows on city and county property.) Leno alleged that merchants drove through the public housing developments nearby and illegally sold weapons to residents.<ref>{{cite news |first=Marisa |last=Lagos |url= https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Measure-would-ban-gun-shows-at-Cow-Palace-2526741.php |title= Measure would ban gun shows at Cow Palace |newspaper= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=August 9, 2007}}</ref> While the bill would stall, local opposition to the shows continued until the Cow Palace Board of Directors in 2019 voted to approve a statement banning all future gun shows.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alyssa |last=Pereira |url= https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Cow-Palace-to-stop-hosting-gun-shows-beginning-in-13772291.php |title=Cow Palace to stop hosting gun shows beginning in 2020 |newspaper= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=April 16, 2019}}</ref>
 
=== Reform efforts ===
==== Death penalty ====
Harris has said life imprisonment without parole is a better and more cost-effective punishment than the [[death penalty]],<ref name="CA Capitol">{{cite web|url=http://www.californiascapitol.com/2009/04/san-francisco-district-attorney-kamala-harris/|title=San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris|publisher=Californiascapitol.com|date=April 15, 2009|access-date=November 18, 2010}}</ref> and has estimated that the resultant cost savings could pay for a thousand additional police officers in San Francisco alone.<ref name="CA Capitol" />
 
During her campaign, Harris pledged never to seek the death penalty.<ref name="sfgate.com" />
After a [[San Francisco Police Department]] officer, Isaac Espinoza, was shot and killed in 2004, U.S. senator (and former San Francisco mayor) [[Dianne Feinstein]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Feinstein-s-surprise-call-for-death-penalty-puts-3313728.php|first1=Phillip|last1=Matier|first2=Andrew|last2=Ross|title=Feinstein's surprise call for death penalty puts D.A. on spot|website=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 21, 2004|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref> U.S. senator [[Barbara Boxer]], [[Oakland]] [[mayor]] [[Jerry Brown]], and the [[San Francisco Police Officers Association]] pressured Harris to reverse that position, but she did not.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Sen-Boxer-joins-throng-calling-for-death-in-3324378.php|first1=Phillip|last1=Matier|first2=Andrew|last2=Ross|title=Sen. Boxer joins throng calling for death in killing of cop|website=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 5, 2004|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref> (Polls found that seventy percent of voters supported Harris's decision.)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/D-A-s-death-penalty-no-go-gets-a-thumbs-up-in-3324388.php|title=D.A.'s death penalty no-go gets a thumbs-up in S.F. poll|first1=Phillip|last1=Matier|first2=Andrew|last2=Ross|website=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 19, 2004|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref> When [[Edwin Ramos]], an [[illegal immigrant]] and alleged [[MS-13]] gang member, was accused of murdering a man and his two sons in 2009,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Van Derbeken|first1=Jaxon|url=https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Edwin-Ramos-won-t-face-death-penalty-3218429.php|title=Edwin Ramos won't face death penalty|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=September 11, 2009|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> Harris sought a sentence of life in prison without parole, a decision Mayor Gavin Newsom backed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Newsom-backs-Harris-decision-3286455.php|first1=Heather|last1=Knight|first2=Marisa|last2=Lagos|title=Newsom backs Harris' decision|date=September 16, 2009|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=October 20, 2009}}</ref>
 
==== Recidivism and re-entry initiative ====
In 2004, Harris recruited civil rights activist [[Lateefah Simon]] to create the San Francisco Reentry Division.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = August 12, 2020|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/21/kamala-harris-2020-president-election-run-meteoric-rise|work=The Guardian|date=January 21, 2019|title='Nobody works harder': insiders recall Kamala Harris's meteoric rise|first=Vivian|last=Ho}}</ref> The flagship program was the Back on Track initiative, a first-of-its-kind reentry program for first-time nonviolent offenders aged 18–30.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Solis|first=Niki|title=Public defender: I worked with Kamala Harris. She was the most progressive DA in California.|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/10/kamala-harris-progressive-pioneer-san-francisco-da-column/3334668001/|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref> Initiative participants whose crimes were not weapon- or gang-related would plead guilty in exchange for a deferral of sentencing and regular appearances before a judge over a twelve- to eighteen-month period. The program maintained rigorous graduation requirements, mandating completion of up to 220 hours of community service, obtaining a [[High school equivalency degree|high-school-equivalency diploma]], maintaining steady employment, taking parenting classes, and passing drug tests. At graduation, the court would dismiss the case and expunge the graduate's record.<ref name="Fraley">{{cite web|first=Malaika|last=Fraley|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/10/26/book-em-kamala-s-f-district-attorney-harris-adds-author-to-list-of-credits/|title=Book 'em, Kamala – S.F. District Attorney Harris adds author to list of credits|newspaper=[[East Bay Times]]|publisher=[[Bay Area News Group]]|location=Walnut Creek, California|date=October 26, 2009}}</ref> Over six years, the 200 people graduated from the program had a [[recidivism]] rate of less than ten percent, compared to the 53 percent of California's drug offenders who returned to prison within two years of release. Back on Track earned recognition from the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] as a model for reentry programs. The DOJ found that the cost to the taxpayers per participant was markedly lower ($5,000) than the cost of adjudicating a case ($10,000) and housing a low-level offender ($50,000).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/Publications/BackonTrackFS.pdf|title=Back on Track: A Problem-Solving Reentry Court|date=September 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref> In 2009, a state law (the Back on Track Reentry Act, A.B. 750) was enacted, encouraging other California counties to start similar programs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/finding-the-path-back-on_b_350679|first=Kamala|last=Harris|title=Kamala Harris: Finding the Path Back on Track|work=[[HuffPost]]|location=New York City|date=November 9, 2009|access-date=November 18, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Begin">{{cite news|first=Brent|last=Begin|url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/district-attorney-program-is-now-statewide-example/|title=District Attorney program is now statewide example|newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]]|date=October 14, 2009}}</ref>
Adopted by the National District Attorneys Association as a model, prosecutor offices in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Atlanta have used Back on Track as a template for their own programs.<ref>{{cite news|first=Alison|last=Knezevich|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-mosby-new-program-20150514-story.html|title=Mosby: New program gives nonviolent offenders a second chance|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=May 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://phlcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pre-Trial-Diversion.Philadelphia.pdf|title=Preventing Future Crime and Preserving Judicial Resources Through Non-Traditional Prosecution|date=September 2016|publisher=Philadelphia District Attorney's Office|access-date=May 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs46.com/news/jail-to-jobs-mayor-bottoms-announces-new-reentry-program/article_6e6caccf-6479-5f52-a451-db7d59adb70c.html|title=Jail to jobs, Mayor Bottoms announces new reentry program|date=April 11, 2018|work=[[WANF|WGCL-TV]]|publisher=CBS|access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://www.cbs46.com/news/jail-to-jobs-mayor-bottoms-announces-new-reentry-program/article_6e6caccf-6479-5f52-a451-db7d59adb70c.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
==== Truancy initiative ====
In 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the city's skyrocketing homicide rate, Harris led a city-wide effort to combat [[truancy]] for at-risk elementary school youth in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite news|first=Heather|last=Knight|title=City opens campaign to cut truancy by thousands of students|url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Drive-to-keep-kids-in-school-2680486.php|access-date=May 1, 2020|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=October 19, 2004}}</ref> Declaring chronic truancy a matter of public safety and pointing out that the majority of prison inmates and homicide victims are dropouts or habitual truants, Harris's office met with thousands of parents at high-risk schools and sent out letters warning all families of the legal consequences of truancy at the beginning of the fall semester, adding she would prosecute the parents of chronically truant elementary students; penalties included a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail.<ref name="Knight">{{cite news|first=Heather|last=Knight|title=City trying to get worst truants to school. Help for students, criminal prosecution part of crackdown|url=https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-City-trying-to-get-worst-truants-2469689.php|access-date=May 1, 2020|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=September 14, 2006}}</ref> The program was controversial when introduced.
 
In 2008, Harris issued citations against six parents whose children missed at least fifty days of school, the first time San Francisco prosecuted adults for student truancy. San Francisco's school chief, Carlos Garcia, said the path from truancy to prosecution was lengthy, and that the school district usually spends months encouraging parents through phone calls, reminder letters, private meetings, hearings before the School Attendance Review Board, and offers of help from city agencies and social services; two of the six parents entered no plea but said they would work with the D.A.'s office and social service agencies to create "parental responsibility plans" to help them start sending their children to school regularly.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nanette|last=Asimov|title=Citations go to parents of truant kids|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/S-F-cites-parents-of-chronically-truant-kids-3209547.php|access-date=May 2, 2020|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=June 11, 2008}}</ref> By April 2009, 1,330 elementary school students were habitual or chronic truants, down 23 percent from 1,730 in 2008, and down from 2,517 in 2007 and from 2,856 in 2006.<ref name="SFGate">{{cite news|title=Fighting truancy yields big dividends|url=https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Fighting-truancy-yields-big-dividends-3295152.php|access-date=May 2, 2020|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=June 14, 2009}}</ref> Harris's office prosecuted seven parents in three years, with none jailed.<ref name="SFGate" />
 
== Attorney General of California (2011–2017) ==
=== Elections ===
{{See also|Electoral history of Kamala Harris}}
 
==== 2010 ====
{{Main|2010 California Attorney General election}}
[[File:Kamala Harris Official Attorney General Photo.jpg|thumb|Harris's official Attorney General portrait]]
Nearly two years before the 2010 election, Harris announced she planned to run.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 12, 2008|title=Kamala Harris, an early Barack Obama backer, begins her ascent|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/kamala-harris-a.html|access-date=November 18, 2020|website=LA Times Blogs – Top of the Ticket|language=en-US}}</ref> She also stated she would run only if then-Attorney General Jerry Brown did not seek re-election for that position.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marinucci|first=Carla|date=November 12, 2008|title=D.A. Harris plans run for attorney general|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/D-A-Harris-plans-run-for-attorney-general-3262181.php|access-date=November 18, 2020|website=SFGATE|language=en-US|quote=Harris said she will run [for attorney general] only if Brown, who was governor before term limits were imposed, makes another run for governor. "I will not run against Jerry Brown," Harris told The Chronicle on Tuesday.}}</ref> Brown instead chose to run for governor and Harris consolidated support from prominent California Democrats.<ref name="newsline" /> Both of California's senators, [[Dianne Feinstein]] and [[Barbara Boxer]], House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]], [[United Farm Workers]] cofounder [[Dolores Huerta]], and mayor of Los Angeles [[Antonio Villaraigosa]] all endorsed her during the Democratic primary.<ref name="newsline">{{cite news|url=http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/226664-villaraigosa-eschews-local-candidates-backs-harris-for-calif.-attorney-general|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723184208/http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/226664-villaraigosa-eschews-local-candidates-backs-harris-for-calif.-attorney-general|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 23, 2011|title=Villaraigosa eschews local candidates, backs Harris for Calif. attorney general|last=Rizo|first=Chris|date=April 16, 2010|newspaper=Legal Newsline|access-date=August 20, 2010}}</ref> In the June 8, 2010, primary, she was nominated with 33.6 percent of the vote, defeating [[Alberto Torrico]] and [[Chris Kelly (entrepreneur)|Chris Kelly]].<ref name="StatementofVote2010Primary">{{cite web|url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2010-primary/pdf/2010-complete-sov.pdf|access-date=April 22, 2020|title=Statement of Vote June 8, 2010, Direct Primary Election|work=California Secretary of State|archive-date=July 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731084633/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2010-primary/pdf/2010-complete-sov.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In the general election, she faced Republican [[Los Angeles County]] district attorney [[Steve Cooley]], who led most of the race.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2010|title=With L.A.'s help, Cooley leads in attorney general's race, Times/USC poll finds|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/10/poll-california-attorney-general.html|access-date=November 8, 2020|website=LA Times Blogs – PolitiCal|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Lagos|first=Marisa|date=October 27, 2010|title=Harris leads in at least one poll, Cooley supporters think Democrats will claim gov's office|work=SF Gate|url=https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/10/27/harris-leads-in-at-least-one-poll-cooley-supporters-think-democrats-will-claim-govs-office/|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111081004/https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/10/27/harris-leads-in-at-least-one-poll-cooley-supporters-think-democrats-will-claim-govs-office/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cooley ran as a nonpartisan,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=October 28, 2010 |title=Cooley says he'd be a nonpartisan attorney general |url=https://archive.kpcc.org/news/2010/10/28/20523/cooley-says-hed-be-non-partisan-attorney-general/ |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=Southern California Public Radio}}</ref> distancing himself from Republican gubernatorial candidate [[2010 California gubernatorial election|Meg Whitman's campaign]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} The election was held November{{nbsp}}2 but after a protracted period of counting mail-in and provisional ballots, Cooley conceded on November 25.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/steve-cooley-kamala-harris-attorney-general.html|first=Jack|last=Leonard|title=Kamala Harris wins attorney general's race as Steve Cooley concedes|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 24, 2010|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802190612/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/steve-cooley-kamala-harris-attorney-general.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris was sworn in on January 3, 2011; she is the first woman, the first [[African American]], and the first [[South Asian American]] to hold the office of Attorney General in the state's history.<ref name=CADoJ>{{citation|last=Bacerra|first=Xavier|publisher=State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General|title=Kamala D. Harris Takes Oath as California Attorney General|date=January 3, 2011|quote=Harris is the first woman, and the first African American and the first South Asian American, to hold the office of Attorney General in the history of California|access-date=August 31, 2020|url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/kamala-d-harris-takes-oath-california-attorney-general}}</ref>
 
==== 2014 ====
{{Main|2014 California Attorney General election}}
 
Harris announced her intention to run for re-election in February 2014 and filed paperwork to run on February 12.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/02/14/kamala-harris-announces-bid-re-election-gop-scratching-heads-candidate-face/|title=As Kamala Harris announces bid for re-election, GOP scratching their heads for a candidate to face her|work=The American Bazaar|first=Deepak|last=Chitnis|date=February 14, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/02/14/kamala-harris-announces-bid-re-election-gop-scratching-heads-candidate-face/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Sacramento Bee]]'',<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2020|url=https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article2607527.html|first=Mollie|last=Reilly|title=Endorsement: Attorney General Kamala Harris, all but unchallenged, deserves a second term|date=August 25, 2014|work=The Sacramento Bee|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520100703/https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article2607527.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Los Angeles Daily News]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2014/10/03/re-elect-kamala-harris-as-attorney-general-but-demand-more-endorsement/|title=Re-elect Kamala Harris as attorney general – but demand more: Endorsement|date=October 3, 2014|work=Los Angeles Daily News|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003256/https://www.dailynews.com/2014/10/03/re-elect-kamala-harris-as-attorney-general-but-demand-more-endorsement/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' endorsed her for re-election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-end-attorney-general-20140924-story.html|title=For attorney general, Kamala Harris|date=September 23, 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233959/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-end-attorney-general-20140924-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On November 4, 2014, Harris was re-elected against Republican Ronald Gold, winning 57.5 percent of the vote to 42.5 percent.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/kamala-harris-election-results_n_5819890.html|title=Kamala Harris Re-Elected As California Attorney General|last=Reilly|first=Mollie|date=November 5, 2014|work=HuffPost|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525071358/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/kamala-harris-election-results_n_5819890.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== Consumer protection ===
==== Fraud, waste, and abuse ====
[[File:AG Kamala Harris meets with California Foreclosure Victims 10.jpg|thumb|Harris meets foreclosure victims in 2011.]]
 
In 2011, Harris announced the creation of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force in the wake of the [[2010 United States foreclosure crisis]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Calif. creates task force to probe mortgage fraud|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-calif-creates-task-force-to-probe-mortgage-fraud-2011may23-story.html|first=Alex|last=Veiga|agency=San Diego Union Tribune|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803062251/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-calif-creates-task-force-to-probe-mortgage-fraud-2011may23-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, Harris obtained two of the largest recoveries in the history of California's False Claims Act{{snd}}$241{{nbsp}}million from [[Quest Diagnostics]] and then $323{{nbsp}}million from the SCAN healthcare network{{snd}}over excess state [[Medi-Cal]] and federal [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] payments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-may-20-la-fi-quest-settlement-20110520-story.html|title=Quest Diagnostics settles Medi-Cal whistleblower suit|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 11, 2020|date=May 20, 2011|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-may-20-la-fi-quest-settlement-20110520-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510527871-harris-323m-scan-settlement-record-recovery-for-calif-program|title=Harris: $323M SCAN settlement record recovery for Calif. program|publisher=Legal Newsline|access-date=May 11, 2020|date=May 20, 2011|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://legalnewsline.com/stories/510527871-harris-323m-scan-settlement-record-recovery-for-calif-program|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2012, Harris leveraged California's economic clout to obtain better terms in the [[2010 United States foreclosure crisis#National Mortgage Settlement|National Mortgage Settlement]] against the nation's five largest mortgage servicers{{snd}}[[JPMorgan Chase]], [[Bank of America]], [[Wells Fargo]], [[Citigroup]] and [[Ally Bank]].<ref name="Parker">{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Kamala-Harris-foreclosure-deal-a-win-for-state-3381270.php|title=Kamala Harris' foreclosure deal a win for state|date=March 5, 2012|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|last1=Parker|first1=Barbara|first2=Rebecca|last2=Kaplan|access-date=June 18, 2012|archive-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106225939/http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Kamala-Harris-foreclosure-deal-a-win-for-state-3381270.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The mortgage firms were accused of illegally foreclosing on homeowners. After dismissing an initial offer of $2–4{{nbsp}}billion in relief for Californians, Harris withdrew from negotiations. The offer eventually was increased to $18.4{{nbsp}}billion in debt relief and $2{{nbsp}}billion in other financial assistance for California homeowners.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-may-12-la-fi-0512-harris-housing-20120512-story.html|title=Mortgage deal cash is divvied|date=May 12, 2012|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|last=Lazo|first=Alejandro|access-date=June 18, 2012|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223155/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-may-12-la-fi-0512-harris-housing-20120512-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-harris-banks-20161016-snap-story.html|title=$25-billion foreclosure settlement was a victory for Kamala Harris in California, but it wasn't perfect|date=October 16, 2016|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|last=Willon|first=Phil|access-date=July 11, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712063845/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-harris-banks-20161016-snap-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Harris worked with [[List of Speakers of the California State Assembly|Assembly speaker John Pérez]] and Senate president ''pro tem'' [[Darrell Steinberg]] in 2013 to introduce the Homeowner Bill of Rights, considered one of the strongest protections nationwide against aggressive foreclosure tactics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-attorney-general-kamala-harris-fights-for-struggling-homeowners/|title=Calif. attorney general Kamala Harris fights for struggling homeowners|work=CBS News|access-date=June 18, 2012|date=July 30, 2012|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223141/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-attorney-general-kamala-harris-fights-for-struggling-homeowners/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Homeowner Bill of Rights banned the practices of "dual-tracking" (processing a modification and foreclosure at the same time) and [[robo-signing]] and provided homeowners with a single point of contact at their lending institution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc7news.com/archive/8732388//|title=Gov. Brown signs Homeowner Bill of Rights|publisher=ABC 7 News|access-date=May 11, 2020|date=July 12, 2012|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://abc7news.com/archive/8732388//|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris achieved multiple nine-figure settlements for California homeowners under the bill mostly for robo-signing and dual-track abuses, as well as prosecuting instances in which loan processors failed to promptly credit mortgage payments, miscalculated interest rates, and charged borrowers improper fees. Harris secured hundreds of millions in relief, including $268{{nbsp}}million from [[Ocwen Financial Corporation]], $470{{nbsp}}million from [[HSBC]], and $550{{nbsp}}million from [[SunTrust Banks]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sacramento homeowners to receive $20&nbsp;million under settlement with Ocwen Financial|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2586881.html|first=Hudson|last=Sangree|newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]]|date=December 19, 2013|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003310/https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2586881.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Christie |last=Smythe |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-05/hsbc-reaches-470-million-accord-over-foreclosure-abuses|title=HSBC Reaches $470 Million Accord Over Foreclosure Abuses|work=Bloomberg|access-date=June 18, 2012|date=February 5, 2016|archive-date=February 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206082545/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-05/hsbc-reaches-470-million-accord-over-foreclosure-abuses|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-suntrust-mortgage-settlement-20140618-story.html |first=E. Scott |last=Reckard |title=SunTrust to pay nearly $1&nbsp;billion to settle mortgage-abuse allegations|work=CBS News|access-date=June 18, 2012|date=July 30, 2012|archive-date=June 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619003539/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-suntrust-mortgage-settlement-20140618-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
From 2013 to 2015, Harris pursued financial recoveries for California's public employee and teacher's pensions, [[CalPERS]] and [[CalSTRS]] against various financial giants for misrepresentation in the sale of [[mortgage-backed securities]]. She secured multiple nine-figure recoveries for the state pensions, recovering about $193{{nbsp}}million from [[Citigroup]], $210{{nbsp}}million from [[S&P Global Ratings|S&P]], $300{{nbsp}}million from [[JP Morgan Chase]], and over half a billion from [[Bank of America]].<ref>{{cite news|title=California to Receive $200 Million in Citibank $7 Billion Mortgage Settlement|url=https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2014/07/14/california-receive-200-million-citibank-7-billion-mortgage-settlement/|first=Jennifer|last=Vigil|newspaper=[[Times of San Diego]]|date=July 14, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611022704/https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2014/07/14/california-receive-200-million-citibank-7-billion-mortgage-settlement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=S&P to pay $1.4&nbsp;billion in claims it misled investors with rosy ratings|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sp-settles-20150203-story.html|first=Dean|last=Starkman|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 3, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235611/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sp-settles-20150203-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Public Employee Pensions Gets $299M In JPMorgan Chase Settlement|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/19/public-employee-pensions-gets-299m-in-jpmorgan-chase-settlement/|work=[[CBS San Francisco]]|date=November 19, 2013|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802184922/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/11/19/public-employee-pensions-gets-299m-in-jpmorgan-chase-settlement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=California To Receive Hundreds Of Millions in Bank Of America Settlement|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/22/california-to-receive-hundreds-of-millions-in-bank-of-america-settlement-mortgage-kamala-harris-department-of-justice/|location=Sacramento|work=[[CBS San Francisco]]|date=August 22, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802205844/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/22/california-to-receive-hundreds-of-millions-in-bank-of-america-settlement-mortgage-kamala-harris-department-of-justice/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2013, Harris declined to authorize a civil complaint drafted by state investigators who accused [[OneWest Bank]], owned by an investment group headed by future [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|U.S. treasury secretary]] [[Steven Mnuchin]] (then a private citizen), of "widespread violation" of California foreclosure laws.<ref name="Declined to sue Mnuchin bank">{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/mnuchin-onewest-california-memo/index.html|title=California investigators wanted to sue Mnuchin bank over foreclosures|work=CNN|date=January 4, 2017|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Fitzpatrick|first=David|archive-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924171801/https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/mnuchin-onewest-california-memo/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the 2016 elections, Harris was the only Democratic Senate candidate to receive a donation from Mnuchin. Harris was criticized for accepting the donation because Mnuchin purportedly profited from the [[subprime mortgage crisis]] through OneWest Bank;<ref name="Complicated history with Wall Street">{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/26/kamala-harris-has-complicated-history-with-wall-street.html|title=Kamala Harris' complicated history with Wall Street will come under scrutiny in the 2020 race|publisher=[[CNBC]]|date=January 26, 2019|access-date=July 2, 2020|last=Chappell|first=Carmin|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612094609/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/26/kamala-harris-has-complicated-history-with-wall-street.html|url-status=live}}</ref> she later voted against his confirmation as treasury secretary in February 2017. In 2019, Harris's campaign stated that the decision not to pursue prosecution hinged on the state's inability to subpoena OneWest. Her spokesman said, "There was no question OneWest conducted predatory lending, and Senator Harris believes they should be punished. Unfortunately, the law was squarely on their side and they were shielded from state subpoenas because they're a federal bank."<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Marinucci|first1=Carla|title=New book whacks Kamala Harris' AG record during housing crisis|date=October 22, 2019|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/kamala-harris-attorney-general-california-housing-053716|access-date=December 5, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|language=en}}</ref>
 
In 2014, Harris settled charges she had brought against [[rent-to-own]] retailer [[Aaron's, Inc.]] on allegations of incorrect late charges, overcharging customers who paid off their contracts before the due date, and privacy violations. In the settlement, the retailer refunded $28.4{{nbsp}}million to California customers and paid $3.4{{nbsp}}million in civil penalties.<ref name="auto6">{{cite web|last=Armental|first=Maria|date=October 13, 2014|title=Aaron's to Settle Spyware Allegations in California|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/aarons-to-settle-spyware-allegations-in-california-1413226841|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223140/https://www.wsj.com/articles/aarons-to-settle-spyware-allegations-in-california-1413226841|archive-date=June 8, 2020|access-date=November 17, 2020|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>
 
In 2015, Harris obtained a $1.2&nbsp;billion judgment against for-profit post-secondary education company [[Corinthian Colleges]] for false advertising and deceptive marketing targeting vulnerable, low-income students and misrepresenting job placement rates to students, investors, and accreditation agencies.<ref name="auto14">{{cite web|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2579497.html|title=California lawsuit claims for-profit colleges misled students, investors|date=October 10, 2013|work=The Sacramento Bee|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115203603/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2579497.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Court ordered Corinthian to pay $820{{nbsp}}million in restitution and another $350{{nbsp}}million in civil penalties.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-corinthian-colleges-judgment-false-advertising-20160323-story.html|title=Corinthian Colleges must pay nearly $1.2&nbsp;billion for false advertising and lending practices|date=March 23, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609164838/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-corinthian-colleges-judgment-false-advertising-20160323-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, Harris also secured a $60{{nbsp}}million settlement with [[JP Morgan Chase]] to resolve allegations of illegal [[debt collection]] with respect to credit card customers, with the bank also agreeing to change practices that violated California consumer protection laws by collecting incorrect amounts, selling bad credit card debt, and running a debt-collection mill that "robo-signed" court documents without first reviewing the files as it rushed to obtain judgments and wage garnishments. As part of the settlement, the bank was required to stop attempting to collect on more than 528,000 customer accounts.<ref>{{cite news|first=Don|last=Thompson|url=https://apnews.com/c0349c9e21374744b7010e7b5eff6e0c/california-settles-debt-collection-suit-jpmorgan-chase|title=California settles debt collection suit with JPMorgan Chase|date=November 2, 2015|work=Associated Press|access-date=May 26, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://apnews.com/c0349c9e21374744b7010e7b5eff6e0c/california-settles-debt-collection-suit-jpmorgan-chase|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2015, Harris opened an investigation of the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison regarding the closure of [[San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station]]. California state investigators searched the home of California utility regulator Michael Peevey and found handwritten notes that allegedly showed he had met with an Edison executive in Poland, where the two had negotiated the terms of the San Onofre settlement, leaving San Diego taxpayers with a $3.3{{nbsp}}billion bill to pay for the closure of the plant. The investigation was closed amidst Harris's 2016 run for the U.S. Senate position.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/nov/20/cpuc-approves-controversial-san-onofre-settlement-/ |date=November 20, 2014 |title=San Onofre Settlement Puts Ratepayers On Hook For $3.3B|last=Anderson|first=Erik|work=KPBS Public Media|access-date=February 28, 2017|language=en|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228171448/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/nov/20/cpuc-approves-controversial-san-onofre-settlement-/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/apr/05/california-critics-kamala-harris-san-onofre-probe/ |date=April 5, 2016 |title=Critics Unhappy With Kamala Harris' Approach To San Onofre Probe|last=Sharma|first=Amita|work=KPBS Public Media|access-date=February 28, 2017|language=en|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228171626/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/apr/05/california-critics-kamala-harris-san-onofre-probe/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==== Privacy rights ====
In February 2012, Harris announced an agreement with [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Google]], [[Hewlett-Packard]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Research in Motion]] to mandate that apps sold in their stores display prominent privacy policies informing users of what private information they were sharing, and with whom.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jessica|last1=Guynn|first2=Nathan|last2=Olivarez-Giles|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html|title=Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, tech giants agree on mobile app privacy|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 22, 2012|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233743/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Facebook]] later joined the agreement. That summer, Harris announced the creation of a Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to enforce laws related to cyber privacy, identity theft, and [[data breach]]es.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mills|last=Elinor|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/california-beefing-up-privacy-protection-enforcement/|title=California beefing up privacy-protection enforcement|work=CNet|date=July 19, 2012|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://www.cnet.com/news/california-beefing-up-privacy-protection-enforcement/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later the same year, Harris notified a hundred mobile-app developers of their non-compliance with state privacy laws and asked them to create privacy policies or face a $2,500 fine each time a non-compliant app is downloaded by a resident of California.<ref>{{cite news|first=Iain|last=Thomson|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/31/california_privacy_crackdown_mobile/|title=California begins crackdown on mobile app developers|work=The Register|date=October 31, 2012|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=July 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701030458/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/31/california_privacy_crackdown_mobile/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2015, Harris secured two settlements with [[Comcast]], one totaling $33{{nbsp}}million over allegations that it posted online the names, phone numbers and addresses of tens of thousands of customers who had paid for unlisted voice over internet protocol (VOIP) phone service and another $26{{nbsp}}million settlement to resolve allegations that it discarded paper records without first omitting or redacting private customer information.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html|title=Comcast agrees to pay $33&nbsp;million in California privacy breach|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 18, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233743/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-feb-22-la-fi-tn-calif-ag-kamala-harris-agreement-with-apple-amazon-google-hp-microsoft-rim-on-app-privacy-policies-20120222-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-comcast-california-settlement-20150918-story.html|title=California reaches $26&nbsp;million settlement with Comcast over electronic waste|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 15, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233822/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-comcast-california-settlement-20150918-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris also settled with [[Houzz]] over allegations that the company recorded phone calls without notifying customers or employees. Houzz was forced to pay $175,000, destroy the recorded calls, and hire a [[chief privacy officer]], the first time such a provision has been included in a settlement with the California Department of Justice.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-houzz-privacy-20151002-story.html|title=Why Kamala Harris is making start-up Houzz hire a "chief privacy officer"|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Dave|last=Paresh|date=October 2, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803233837/https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-houzz-privacy-20151002-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== Criminal justice reform ===
==== Launch of Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry ====
In November 2013, Harris launched the [[California Department of Justice]]'s Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry in partnership with district attorney offices in [[San Diego]], [[Los Angeles]], and [[Alameda County]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Rina|last=Palta|url=https://www.scpr.org/news/2013/11/20/40494/attorney-general-kamala-harris-announces-new-divis/|title=Calif. Attorney General Kamala Harris announces new division to stop ex-prisoners from committing new crimes|access-date=May 22, 2020|date=November 20, 2013|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.scpr.org/news/2013/11/20/40494/attorney-general-kamala-harris-announces-new-divis/|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2015, Harris announced the creation of a pilot program in coordination with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department called "Back on Track LA". Like Back on Track, first time, non-violent, non-sexual, offenders aged between 18 and 30{{Failed verification|date=January 2021}} – 90 men participated in the pilot program for 24–30 months. Assigned a case manager, participants received education through a partnership with the [[Los Angeles Community College District]] and job training services.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sheriff, AG Harris Unveil Program to Curb Recidivism|url=https://scvnews.com/sheriff-ag-harris-unveil-program-to-curb-recidivism/|first=Alex|last=Veiga|agency=SCV News|date=March 11, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803011814/https://scvnews.com/sheriff-ag-harris-unveil-program-to-curb-recidivism/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==== Wrongful convictions and prison overcrowding ====
Harris's record on [[wrongful conviction]] cases as attorney general has engendered criticism from academics and activists.<ref name="CrimJusticeRecord">{{cite web|first=Lara|last=Bazelon|url=https://theappeal.org/kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record-killed-her-presidential-run/|title=Kamala Harris's Criminal Justice Record Killed Her Presidential Run|work=The Appeal|date=December 4, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817223213/https://theappeal.org/kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record-killed-her-presidential-run/|url-status=live}}</ref> Law professor [[Lara Bazelon]] contends Harris "weaponized technicalities to keep wrongfully convicted people behind bars rather than allow them new trials".<ref name="CrimJusticeRecord"/> After the 2011 United States Supreme Court decision in ''[[Brown v. Plata]]'' declared California's prisons so [[Prison overcrowding|overcrowded]] they inflicted [[cruel and unusual punishment]], Harris fought federal supervision, explaining "I have a client, and I don't get to choose my client."<ref name=NYTmag>{{cite news|last=Bazelon|first=Emily|title=Kamala Harris, a 'Top Cop' in the era of Black Lives Matter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html|work=The New York Times Magazine|date=May 25, 2016|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301010318/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris declined to take any position on criminal sentencing-reform initiatives [[California Proposition 36, 2012|Prop{{nbsp}}36]] (2012) and [[California Proposition 47 (2014)|Prop{{nbsp}}47]] (2014), arguing it would be improper because her office prepares the ballot booklets.<ref name="NYTmag" /> [[John Van de Kamp]], a predecessor as attorney general, publicly disagreed with the rationale.<ref name="NYTmag" />
 
In September 2014, Harris's office argued unsuccessfully in a court filing against the early release of prisoners, citing the need for inmate firefighting labor. When the memo provoked headlines, Harris spoke out against it, saying she was unaware that her office had produced the memo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Democratic debate: Fact-checking the attacks on Kamala Harris' criminal justice record|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/amp/|first=Casey|last=Tolan|agency=Mercury News|date=August 1, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815030540/https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the 1940s, qualified California inmates have the option of volunteering to receive comprehensive training from the [[California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection|Cal Fire]] in exchange for sentence reductions and more comfortable prison accommodations; prison firefighters receive about $2 a day, and another $1 when battling fires.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lakshmi|last=Singh|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/18/669088658/serving-time-and-fighting-california-wildfires-for-2-a-day|title=Serving Time And Fighting California Wildfires|newspaper=NPR.org|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=November 18, 2018|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818111955/https://www.npr.org/2018/11/18/669088658/serving-time-and-fighting-california-wildfires-for-2-a-day|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== LGBT rights ===
==== Opposing Prop 8 ====
{{Main|Hollingsworth v. Perry}}
 
In 2008, California voters passed [[2008 California Proposition 8|Prop{{nbsp}}8]], a state constitutional amendment providing that only marriages "between a man and a woman" are valid. Legal challenges were made by opponents soon after its approval, and a pair of same-sex couples filed a lawsuit against the initiative in [[United States federal courts|federal court]] in the case of ''[[Perry v. Schwarzenegger]]'' (later ''[[Hollingsworth v. Perry]]''). In their 2010 campaigns, California attorney general Jerry Brown and Harris both pledged to not defend Prop{{nbsp}}8.<ref>{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Egelko|url=https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/11/08/kamala-harris-steve-cooley-race-could-affect-prop-8/|title=Kamala Harris-Steve Cooley race could affect Prop. 8|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=November 8, 2010|access-date=April 29, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223145/https://blog.sfgate.com/politics/2010/11/08/kamala-harris-steve-cooley-race-could-affect-prop-8/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
After being elected, Harris declared her office would not defend the marriage ban, leaving the task to Prop{{nbsp}}8's proponents.<ref>{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Baume|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/harris-vows-to-abandon-prop-8/1860319/|title=Kamala Harris Vows to Abandon Prop 8|newspaper=[[NBC Bay Area]]|publisher=[[NBC News]]|location=San Francisco, California|date=December 2, 2010|access-date=April 29, 2020|archive-date=April 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426211608/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/harris-vows-to-abandon-prop-8/1860319/|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2013, Harris filed an [[amicus curiae]] brief, arguing Prop{{nbsp}}8 was unconstitutional and that the initiative's sponsors did not have [[Standing (law)|legal standing]] to represent California's interests by defending the law in federal court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-files-us-supreme-court-brief-support-marriage|title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Support of Marriage Equality|publisher=Office of the California Attorney General|date=February 27, 2013|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803072255/https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-files-us-supreme-court-brief-support-marriage|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2013, the Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that Prop{{nbsp}}8's proponents lacked standing to defend it in federal court.<ref>{{cite news|last=Savage|first=David G.|url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html|title=Prop. 8: Supreme Court clears way for gay marriage in California|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 26, 2013|access-date=December 3, 2013|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The next day Harris delivered a speech in downtown Los Angeles urging the Ninth Circuit to lift the stay banning same-sex marriages as soon as possible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-prop-8_n_3505292|title=Kamala Harris On Prop 8 Decision: Same-Sex Marriages In California Should Begin Immediately|first=Anna|last=Almendrala|date=June 27, 2013|work=HuffPost|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803093101/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-prop-8_n_3505292|url-status=live}}</ref> The stay was lifted two days later.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dolan|first=Maura|url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html|title=Prop 8: Gay marriages can resume in California, court rules|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=December 3, 2013|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/the818now/tn-blr-prop-8-gay-marriages-can-resume-in-california-court-rules-20130628-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==== Gay and trans panic defense ban ====
In 2014, Attorney General Kamala Harris co-sponsored legislation to ban the [[Gay panic defense|gay and trans panic defense]] in court,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/05/california-on-track-to-become-first-state-to-ban-gay-panic-defense/|title=California On Track To Become First State To Ban 'Gay Panic' Defense in Courtrooms|date=September 5, 2014}}</ref> which passed and California became the first state with such legislation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chokshi|first=Niraj|title=California could become the first state to ban the 'gay panic' defense|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/05/california-could-become-the-first-state-to-ban-the-gay-panic-defense/|access-date=March 11, 2021|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==== ''Michelle-Lael B. Norsworthy v. Jeffrey Beard et al.'' ====
In February 2014, Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, a [[transgender]] inmate at California's [[Mule Creek State Prison]], filed a federal lawsuit based on the [[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]]'s failure to provide her with what she argued was medically necessary [[sex reassignment surgery]] (SRS).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco151116000237|title=Jeffrey B. Norsworthy (a/k/a Michelle-Lael B. Norsworthy), Plaintiff, v. Jeffrey Beard, et al., Defendants|date=November 18, 2014|publisher=United States District Court, N.D. California, Case No. 14-cv-00695-JST|access-date=August 2, 2017|archive-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005111758/https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco151116000237|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2015, a federal judge ordered the state to provide Norsworthy with SRS, finding that prison officials had been "[[Deliberate indifference|deliberately indifferent]] to her serious medical need".<ref name="SFGateNorsworthy">{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Egelko|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Former-California-inmate-finally-has-10924841.php|title=Parolee has sex-reassignment surgery after years of battling state|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=February 10, 2017|access-date=August 2, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005158/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Former-California-inmate-finally-has-10924841.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Norswrthy v. Beard et al 14-cv-00695-|url=https://transgenderlawcenter.org/norsworthy-v-beard|website=Transgender Law Center|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=October 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012202552/https://transgenderlawcenter.org/norsworthy-v-beard|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris, representing CDCR, appealed the order to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Paige|last=St. John|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-prison-board-approves-parole-for-sexreassignment-inmate-20150521-story.html|title=Inmate who won order for sex reassignment surgery recommended for parole|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 21, 2015|access-date=August 2, 2017|archive-date=July 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731235653/http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-prison-board-approves-parole-for-sexreassignment-inmate-20150521-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> arguing that psychotherapy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2019/2/04/kamala-harris-lgbtq-trans-prison|title=Op-ed: I'm Not Ready to Trust Kamala Harris on LGBTQ+ Issues|last=Strangio|first=Chase|publisher=Out|date=February 5, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815002218/https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2019/2/04/kamala-harris-lgbtq-trans-prison|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[hormone therapy]] Norsworthy had been receiving for her [[gender dysphoria]] over the preceding fourteen years, were sufficient medical treatment,<ref name="Johnson">{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Chris|title=Harris appeals order granting gender reassignment to trans inmate|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/04/10/harris-appeals-order-granting-trans-inmate-gender-reassignment/|access-date=October 12, 2017|newspaper=[[Washington Blade]]|date=April 10, 2015|ref=1|archive-date=October 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013013117/http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/04/10/harris-appeals-order-granting-trans-inmate-gender-reassignment/|url-status=live}}</ref> and there was "no evidence that Norsworthy is in serious, immediate physical or emotional danger".<ref name="Johnson"/> While Harris defended the state's position in court, she said she ultimately pushed the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to change their policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/kamala-harris-denying-gender-affirmation-surgery-trans-inmates|title=Kamala Harris on Denying Gender Affirmation Surgery to Trans Inmates|last=Gilchrist|first=Tracy E.|publisher=Advocate|date=September 20, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206155324/https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/kamala-harris-denying-gender-affirmation-surgery-trans-inmates|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2015, while the state's appeal was pending, Norsworthy was released on parole, obviating the state's duty to provide her with inmate medical care<ref>{{cite web|first=Jay|last=Barmann|url=https://sfist.com/2016/03/21/former_trans_inmate_michelle-lael_n/|title=Former Trans Inmate Michelle-Lael Norsworthy Speaks Out About Her New Transition, To Civilian Life|website=[[SFist]]|publisher=Gothamist |location=San Francisco, California|date=March 21, 2016|access-date=August 2, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105215549/http://sfist.com/2016/03/21/former_trans_inmate_michelle-lael_n.php|archive-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref> and rendering the case moot.<ref name="Brown">{{cite magazine|first=Annie|last=Brown|url=https://story.californiasunday.com/michelle-lael-norsworthy-sex-reassignment-prison|title=Michelle's Case|magazine=[[The California Sunday Magazine]]|publisher=[[Emerson Collective]]|location=San Francisco, California|date=May 17, 2016|access-date=August 2, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005634/https://story.californiasunday.com/michelle-lael-norsworthy-sex-reassignment-prison|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, Harris stated that she took "full responsibility" for briefs her office filed in Norsworthy's case and others involving access to gender-affirming surgery for trans inmates.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Chris|date=January 21, 2019|title=Harris takes 'full responsibility' for briefs against surgery for trans inmates|url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2019/01/21/harris-takes-full-responsibility-for-briefs-against-surgery-for-trans-inmates/|access-date=December 24, 2020|work=[[Washington Blade]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
=== Public safety ===
==== Anti-truancy efforts ====
[[File:Attorney General Kamala Harris visits Peterson Middle School to discuss online safety and cyberbullying 06.jpg|thumb|Visiting Peterson Middle School ([[Santa Clara Unified School District]]) in 2010]]
 
In 2011, Harris urged criminal penalties for parents of truant children as she did as District Attorney of San Francisco, allowing the court to defer judgment if the parent agreed to a mediation period to get their child back in school. Critics charged that local prosecutors implementing her directives were overzealous in their enforcement and Harris's policy adversely affected families.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e|title=The Human Costs Of Kamala Harris' War On Truancy|first=Molly|last=Redden|date=March 29, 2019|website=HuffPost|access-date=May 25, 2020|archive-date=May 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525165327/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, Harris issued a report titled "In School + On Track", which found that more than 250,000 elementary school students in the state were "chronically absent" and the statewide truancy rate for elementary students in the 2012–2013 school year was nearly thirty percent, at a cost of nearly $1.4{{nbsp}}billion to school districts, since funding is based on attendance rates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/tr/truancy_2013.pdf|title=In School + On Track: Attorney General's 2013 Report on California's Elementary School Truancy and Absenteeism Crisis|website=California Attorney General|access-date=May 25, 2020|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422013023/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/tr/truancy_2013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==== Environmental protection ====
Harris prioritized environmental protection as attorney general, first securing a $44{{nbsp}}million settlement to resolve all damages and costs associated with the [[Cosco Busan oil spill]], in which a container ship collided with [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] and spilled 50,000{{nbsp}}gallons of [[bunker fuel]] into the [[San Francisco Bay]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fimrite|first1=Peter|title=$44&nbsp;million settles Cosco Busan oil spill in bay|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/44-million-settles-Cosco-Busan-oil-spill-in-bay-2308869.php|access-date=May 8, 2020|work=SFGate|date=September 19, 2011|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223153/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/44-million-settles-Cosco-Busan-oil-spill-in-bay-2308869.php|url-status=live}}</ref> In the aftermath of the 2015 [[Refugio oil spill]], which deposited about 140,000{{nbsp}}gallons of crude oil off the coast of [[Santa Barbara, California]], Harris toured the coastline and directed her office's resources and attorneys to investigate possible criminal violations.<ref>{{cite news|last1=White|first1=Randol|last2=Bell|first2=Jordan|last3=Osborn|first3=Lisa|title=State Attorney General investigates whether oil spill was result of criminal activity|url=https://www.kcbx.org/post/state-attorney-general-investigates-whether-oil-spill-was-result-criminal-activity|access-date=November 9, 2018|work=KCBXfm|date=June 4, 2015|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110080336/http://www.kcbx.org/post/state-attorney-general-investigates-whether-oil-spill-was-result-criminal-activity|url-status=live}}</ref> Thereafter, operator [[Plains All American Pipeline]] was indicted on 46 criminal charges related to the spill, with one employee indicted on three criminal charges.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Doug|last2=Mejia|first2=Brittny|title=Pipeline company indicted in 2015 Santa Barbara County oil spill|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-county-oil-spill-20160517-snap-story.html|access-date=November 9, 2018|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 17, 2016|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110120122/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-county-oil-spill-20160517-snap-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, a Santa Barbara jury returned a verdict finding Plains guilty of failing to properly maintain its pipeline and another eight misdemeanor charges; they were sentenced to pay over $3{{nbsp}}million in fines and assessments.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Gorman|first1=Steve|last2=McWilliams|first2=Garry |date=September 8, 2018 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-oilspill-court/plains-all-american-pipeline-convicted-in-2015-california-oil-spill-idUSKCN1LN2SN|title=Plains All American Pipeline convicted in 2015 California oil spill|access-date=May 11, 2020|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-oilspill-court/plains-all-american-pipeline-convicted-in-2015-california-oil-spill-idUSKCN1LN2SN|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
From 2015 to 2016, Harris secured multiple multi-million-dollar settlements with fuel service companies [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron]], [[BP]], [[ARCO]], [[Phillips 66]], and [[ConocoPhillips]] to resolve allegations they failed to properly monitor the hazardous materials in its underground storage tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale at hundreds of California gas stations.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kimberley|last=Veklerov|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/09/07/chevron-sacramento-district-attorney-job.html|title=Chevron settlement helps Sacramento Co. district attorney avoid job cuts|date=September 16, 2011|work=[[Sacramento Business Journal]]|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-date=March 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317094812/http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2011/09/07/chevron-sacramento-district-attorney-job.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Kimberley|last=Veklerov|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BP-Arco-to-pay-14-million-in-suit-over-gas-10621426.php|title=BP, Arco to pay $14&nbsp;million in suit over gas tanks in California|date=November 17, 2016|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223146/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BP-Arco-to-pay-14-million-in-suit-over-gas-10621426.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/conocophillips-phillips-66-to-spend-115-million-in-california-tank-settlement|title=ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66 to Spend $11.5 Million in California Tank Settlement|first=Stephen|last=Siciliano|date=May 10, 2015|work=[[Bloomberg Law]]|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/conocophillips-phillips-66-to-spend-115-million-in-california-tank-settlement|url-status=live}}</ref> In summer 2016, automaker [[Volkswagen AG]] agreed to pay up to $14.7{{nbsp}}billion to settle a raft of claims related to so-called [[Defeat Device]]s used to [[Volkswagen emissions scandal|cheat emissions standards]] on its diesel cars while actually emitting up to forty times the levels of harmful nitrogen oxides allowed under state and federal law.<ref name="Egelko">{{cite web|first=Bob|last=Egelko|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Judge-approves-Volkswagen-state-settlement-over-9198583.php|title=Judge approves Volkswagen-state settlement over diesel cheating|date=September 1, 2016|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223152/https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Judge-approves-Volkswagen-state-settlement-over-9198583.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris and the chair of the [[California Air Resources Board]], [[Mary D. Nichols]], announced that California would receive $1.18{{nbsp}}billion as well as another $86{{nbsp}}million paid to the state of California in civil penalties.<ref name="Egelko" />
 
==== Law enforcement ====
California's [[2004 California Proposition 69|Prop 69]] (2004) required law enforcement to collect DNA samples from any adult arrested for a felony and from individuals arrested for certain crimes. In 2012, Harris announced that the California Department of Justice had improved its DNA testing capabilities such that samples stored at the state's crime labs could now be analyzed four times faster, within thirty days. Accordingly, Harris reported that the Rapid DNA Service Team within the Bureau of Forensic Services had cleared California's DNA backlog for the first time).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/01/california-dna-evidence-attorney-general.html|title=California attorney general says DNA backlog is gone|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 25, 2012|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802232618/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/01/california-dna-evidence-attorney-general.html |first=Chris |last=Megerian |url-status=live}}</ref> Harris's office was later awarded a $1.6{{nbsp}}million grant from the [[Manhattan District Attorney]]'s initiative to eliminate the backlogs of untested [[rape kits]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/grant-awarded-to-test-rape-kits/|title=Grant awarded to test rape kits|newspaper=[[Turlock Journal]]|date=September 17, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629145222/https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/crime/grant-awarded-to-test-rape-kits/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2015, Harris conducted a 90-day review of [[implicit bias]] in policing and [[Police use of deadly force in the United States|police use of deadly force]]. In April 2015, Harris introduced the first of its kind "Principled Policing: Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias" training, designed in conjunction with [[Stanford University]] psychologist and professor [[Jennifer Eberhardt]], to help law enforcement officers overcome barriers to neutral policing and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the community. All Command-level staff received the training. The training was part of a package of reforms introduced within the California Department of Justice, which also included additional resources deployed to increase the recruitment and hiring of diverse special agents, an expanded role for the department to investigate officer-related shooting investigations and community policing.<ref>{{cite news|title=California Attorney General Launches Top-Down Policing Reforms|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/10493776/california-attorney-general-launches-top-down-policing-reforms|work=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]]|date=April 17, 2015|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.kqed.org/news/10493776/california-attorney-general-launches-top-down-policing-reforms|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Harris's California Department of Justice became the first statewide agency in the country to require all its police officers to wear [[body cameras]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/live-updates/general-election/fact-checking-the-first-democratic-debate/harris-on-requiring-police-to-wear-body-cameras/ |title=Harris on requiring police to wear body cameras|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 27, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614013255/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/live-updates/general-election/fact-checking-the-first-democratic-debate/harris-on-requiring-police-to-wear-body-cameras/?arc404=true|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris also announced a new state law requiring every law enforcement agency in California to collect, report, and publish expanded statistics on how many people are shot, seriously injured or killed by peace officers throughout the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/10813726/state-to-improve-police-use-of-force-data-next-year-under-new-law-2|title=State to Improve Police Use-of-Force Data Next Year Under New Law|work=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]]|date=December 30, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802185109/https://www.kqed.org/news/10813726/state-to-improve-police-use-of-force-data-next-year-under-new-law-2|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Kamala Harris Delivers Remarks on 50th Anniversary of the Signing of the Civil Rights Act 03.jpg|thumb|From left to right: [[Los Angeles Police Department|LAPD]] chief [[Charlie Beck]], Harris, and civil rights lawyer [[Constance L. Rice]] celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].]]
 
Later that year, Harris appealed a judge's order to take over the prosecution of a [[2011 Seal Beach shooting|high-profile mass murder case]] and to eject all 250 prosecutors from the Orange County district attorney's office over allegations of misconduct by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] D.A. [[Tony Rackauckas]]. Rackauckas was alleged to have illegally employed jailhouse informants and concealed evidence.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sidney|last=Powell|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scott-dekraai-case_n_6911258|title=California AG Appeals Booting Of Orange County DA From Mass Murder Case Over Misconduct Allegations|date=October 17, 2016|website=HuffPost|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802193345/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scott-dekraai-case_n_6911258|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris noted that it was unnecessary to ban all 250 prosecutors from working on the case, as only a few had been directly involved, later promising a narrower criminal investigation. The [[U.S. Department of Justice]] began an investigation into Rackauckas in December 2016, but he was not re-elected.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tony|last=Saavedra|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2019/02/25/new-orange-county-da-willing-to-undergo-federal-probation-to-end-snitch-investigation/|title=New Orange County DA willing to undergo federal probation to end 'snitch' investigation|date=February 25, 2019|website=Orange County Register|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223145/https://www.ocregister.com/2019/02/25/new-orange-county-da-willing-to-undergo-federal-probation-to-end-snitch-investigation/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2016, Harris announced a patterns and practices investigation into purported civil rights violations and use of [[excessive force]] by the two largest law enforcement agencies in [[Kern County, California]], the [[Bakersfield Police Department]] and the [[Kern County Sheriff's Department]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Oliver|last1=Laughland|first2=Jon|last2=Swaine|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/22/california-police-kern-county-investigation-kamala-harris|title=Two 'deadliest' police departments in US to be investigated in California|date=December 22, 2016|website=The Guardian|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530073210/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/22/california-police-kern-county-investigation-kamala-harris|url-status=live}}</ref> Labeled the "deadliest police departments in America" in a five-part ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' expose, a separate investigation commissioned by the [[ACLU]] and submitted to the California Department of Justice corroborated reports of police using [[excessive force]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Oliver|last1=Laughland|first2=Jon|last2=Swaine|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11631037/aclu-report-slams-central-valley-law-enforcement-agencies|title=ACLU says violence at Kern County police departments violated rights|date=November 9, 2017|website=The Guardian|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.kqed.org/news/11631037/aclu-report-slams-central-valley-law-enforcement-agencies|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==== Planned Parenthood ====
In 2016, Harris's office seized videos and other information from the apartment of an antiabortion activist who had made secret recordings and then accused [[Planned Parenthood]] doctors of illegally selling fetal tissue. Harris had announced that her office would investigate the activist in the summer of 2015. She was facing increasing criticism for not taking public action by the time Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the activist.<ref>{{Cite web|last=St John|first=Paige|date=April 6, 2016|title=State attorney general seizes videos behind Planned Parenthood sting|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-attorney-general-seizes-planned-parenthood-videos-20160405-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201022162320/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-attorney-general-seizes-planned-parenthood-videos-20160405-story.html|archive-date=October 22, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Breningstall|first=Jeremy|date=March 30, 2018|title=How anti-abortion activists used undercover Planned Parenthood videos to further a political cause|url=https://graphics.latimes.com/planned-parenthood-videos/|access-date=October 22, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
 
==== Sex crimes ====
In 2011, Harris obtained a guilty plea and a four-year prison sentence from a [[stalker]] who used [[Facebook]] and [[Social engineering (security)|social engineering]] techniques to illegally access the private photographs of women whose social media accounts he hijacked. Harris commented that the Internet had "opened up a new frontier for crime".<ref>{{cite web|first=Nina|last=Mandell|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-stalker-years-prison-article-1.156894|title=Facebook stalker turned email hacker sentenced to four years in prison; sent nude photos of victims|work=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]|date=July 24, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223522/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-stalker-years-prison-article-1.156894|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Harris created the eCrime Unit within the California Department of Justice, a 20-attorney unit targeting technology crimes.<ref>{{cite web|first=Shafer|last=Margie|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/california-attorney-general-creates-ecrime-unit/|title=California Attorney General Creates eCrime Unit|publisher=[[KPIX]]|location=San Jose|date=December 11, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003305/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/california-attorney-general-creates-ecrime-unit/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, several purveyors of so-called [[revenge porn]] sites based in California were arrested, charged with felonies, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sara Ashley|last=O'Brien|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/02/technology/revenge-porn-hacker-charlie-evens/index.html|title=Revenge porn hacker pleads gulty, faces 7 years|publisher=CNN|location=New York|date=July 2, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223529/https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/02/technology/revenge-porn-hacker-charlie-evens/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Gordon|last=Larry|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2014-feb-14-la-me-ln-porn-extortion-20140214-story.html/|title=Oklahoma man arrested in alleged 'revenge porn' extortion|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 2, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223532/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-xpm-2014-feb-14-la-me-ln-porn-extortion-20140214-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the first prosecution of its kind in the United States, Kevin Bollaert was convicted on 21 counts of identity theft and six counts of extortion and sentenced to 18 years in prison.<ref>{{cite web|first=Dana|last=Littlefield|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-kevin-bollaert-revenge-porn-case-sentencing-2015apr03-story.html|title=Revenge porn site operator gets 18 years|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=April 3, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223447/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-kevin-bollaert-revenge-porn-case-sentencing-2015apr03-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris brought up these cases when California Congresswoman [[Katie Hill (politician)|Katie Hill]] was targeted for similar cyber exploitation by her ex-husband and forced to resign in late 2019.<ref>{{cite web|first=Molly Hensley|last=Clancy|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-katie-hill-resign-sex-life-cyber-exploitation|title=Let's Also Speak the Truth": Kamala Harris Said Katie Hill is a Victim of "Cyber-Exploitation|website=[[Buzzfeed News]]|publisher=[[BuzzFeed]]|date=October 28, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223451/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-katie-hill-resign-sex-life-cyber-exploitation|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2016, Harris announced the arrest of [[Backpage]] CEO Carl Ferrer on felony charges of [[pimping]] a [[Minor (law)|minor]], pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. The warrant alleged that 99 percent of Backpage's revenue was directly attributable to prostitution-related ads, many of which involved victims of sex trafficking, including children under the age of 18.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/23/backpage-new-pimping-charge-kamala-harris-california/|title=California attorney general pursues new pimping charges against Backpage site|newspaper=The Guardian|date=December 23, 2016|access-date=May 12, 2020|archive-date=April 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418215943/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/23/backpage-new-pimping-charge-kamala-harris-california |agency=Associated Press |url-status=live}}</ref> The pimping charge against Ferrer was dismissed by the California courts in 2016 on the grounds of [[Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act]], but in 2018, Ferrer pleaded guilty in California to [[money laundering]] and agreed to give evidence against the former co-owners of Backpage.<ref name="Jackman">{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Jackman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/13/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-pleads-guilty-in-three-states-agrees-to-testify-against-other-website-officials/|title=Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer pleads guilty in three states, agrees to testify against other website officials|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 13, 2018|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222131341/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/13/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-pleads-guilty-in-three-states-agrees-to-testify-against-other-website-officials/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ferrer simultaneously pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to facilitate prostitution in Texas state court and Arizona federal court.<ref name="Jackman" /><ref name="Thompson">{{Cite news|first=Don|last=Thompson|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-backpagecom-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-california-money-charges-2018-4|title=Backpage.com CEO pleads guilty to California money charges|work=Business Insider|agency=Associated Press|date=April 12, 2018|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425230047/http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-backpagecom-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-california-money-charges-2018-4|url-status=live}}</ref> Under pressure, Backpage announced that it was removing its adult section from all its U.S. sites.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Derek|last=Hawkins|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/10/backpage-com-shuts-down-adult-services-ads-after-relentless-pressure-from-authorities/|title=Backpage.com shuts down adult services ads after relentless pressure from authorities|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 10, 2017|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-date=January 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110151217/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/10/backpage-com-shuts-down-adult-services-ads-after-relentless-pressure-from-authorities/|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris welcomed the move, saying, "I look forward to them shutting down completely."<ref>{{cite news|first=Sarah D.|last=Wire|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201701-htmlstory.html#sen-kamala-harris-praises-closure-of-backpage-com-adult-section|title=Sen. Kamala Harris praises closure of Backpage.com adult section|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 10, 2017|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-date=April 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421153141/https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201701-htmlstory.html#sen-kamala-harris-praises-closure-of-backpage-com-adult-section|url-status=live}}</ref> The investigations continued after she became a senator, and, in April 2018, Backpage and affiliated sites were seized by federal law enforcement.<ref name="Thompson" />
 
==== Transnational criminal organizations ====
[[File:101 Gang Members Arrested in Central Valley 07.jpg|thumb|AG Harris announces the arrest of 101 gang members in [[Los Banos, California|Los Banos]], California.]]
 
During her term as attorney general, Harris's office oversaw major investigations and prosecutions targeting transnational criminal organizations for their involvement in violent crime, fraud schemes, drug trafficking, and smuggling. Significant arrests and seizures (of weapons, drugs, cash, and other assets) under Harris targeted the [[Tijuana Cartel]] (2011),<ref name="auto15">{{cite web|first=Monica|last=Dean|url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/cartel-suspected-in-murder-for-hire-plot/1916017/|title=Murder-for-Hire Plot Tied to Cartel: Feds|website=NBC San Diego|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=February 18, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003316/https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/cartel-suspected-in-murder-for-hire-plot/1916017/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Nuestra Familia]], [[Norteños]], and the [[Vagos Motorcycle Club]] (2011),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/17-charged-in-east-bay-meth-weapons-bust/|title=17 Charged in East Bay Meth, Weapons Bust|website=CBS Bay Area|date=May 4, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213234/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/17-charged-in-east-bay-meth-weapons-bust/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jesse|last=McKinley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/us/09gang.html|title=California Raids Net Dozens Suspected of Being Gang Members|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731053909/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/us/09gang.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbsun.com/2011/10/06/vagos-gang-crackdown-nets-arrests-weapons-drugs/|title=Vagos gang crackdown nets arrests, weapons, drugs'|newspaper=[[The San Bernardino Sun]]|publisher=[[Digital First Media]]|date=October 6, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213443/https://www.sbsun.com/2011/10/06/vagos-gang-crackdown-nets-arrests-weapons-drugs/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Norteños]] (2015),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc30.com/norteo-gang-norteno-tulare-county-visalia/1012269/|title=52 arrested in Tulare County Norteño gang sweep|website=[[KFSN-TV]]|date=October 1, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802203259/https://abc30.com/norteo-gang-norteno-tulare-county-visalia/1012269/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article22510827.html|title=75 arrests, guns and drugs seized in Merced gang take down|website=[[Merced Sun-Star]]|date=May 28, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003309/https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/crime/article22510827.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Crips]] (2015),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/10/32-gang-members-associates-indicted-in-14-3m-id-theft-tax-fraud-scheme/|title=32 Gang Members, Associates Indicted In $14.3M ID Theft, Tax Fraud Scheme|website=[[CBS]]|date=August 10, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802225818/https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/10/32-gang-members-associates-indicted-in-14-3m-id-theft-tax-fraud-scheme/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Mexican Mafia]] (2016),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_safety/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-bust-of-corona-varrio-locos-and-la-eme-gangs/article_18de916c-2e95-11e6-84b8-cb0981f66017.html|title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Bust of Corona Varrio Locos and La Eme Gangs Operating in Riverside County|website=Highland Community News|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803054810/https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_safety/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-bust-of-corona-varrio-locos-and-la-eme-gangs/article_18de916c-2e95-11e6-84b8-cb0981f66017.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and businesses in the [[Los Angeles Fashion District]] accused of operating a major money-laundering hub for Mexican narcotics traffickers (2014).<ref name="auto4">{{cite news|title=Los Angeles Fashion District raided in drug money-laundering probe|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fashion-raids/los-angeles-fashion-district-raided-in-drug-money-laundering-probe-idUSKBN0H52GZ20140910|first=Steve|last=Gorman|work=Reuters|date=September 10, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803004716/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fashion-raids/los-angeles-fashion-district-raided-in-drug-money-laundering-probe-idUSKBN0H52GZ20140910|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In summer 2012, Harris signed an accord with the [[Attorney General of Mexico]], [[Marisela Morales (lawyer)|Marisela Morales]], to improve coordination of law enforcement resources targeting transnational gangs engaging in the sale and trafficking of human beings across the [[San Ysidro]] border crossing. The accord called for closer integration on investigations between offices and sharing best practices.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/porous-mexican-border-allows-alarming-trend-in-human-trafficking-into-us|title=Porous Mexican Border Allows Alarming Trend in Human Trafficking into US|date=October 1, 2012|work=[[Fox News]]|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://www.foxnews.com/world/porous-mexican-border-allows-alarming-trend-in-human-trafficking-into-us|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, [[Governor Jerry Brown]] signed into law two bills advanced by Harris to combat human trafficking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/gov-jerry-brown-signs-bills-targeting-human-trafficking.html|title=Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills targeting human trafficking|date=September 24, 2012|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/gov-jerry-brown-signs-bills-targeting-human-trafficking.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In November, Harris presented a report titled "The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012" at a symposium attended by [[U.S. Secretary of Labor]] [[Hilda Solis]] and Attorney General Morales, outlining the growing prevalence of human trafficking in the state, and highlighting the involvement of transnational gangs in the practice.<ref name="auto10">{{cite web|first=Kamala|last=Harris|url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/ht/human-trafficking-2012.pdf|title=The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012|publisher=[[California Department of Justice]]|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719180010/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/ht/human-trafficking-2012.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Yussuf|last=Simmonds|url=https://lasentinel.net/attorney-general-harris-takes-on-human-trafficking.html|title=Attorney General Harris takes on Human Trafficking|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Sentinel]]|date=November 21, 2012|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://lasentinel.net/attorney-general-harris-takes-on-human-trafficking.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In early 2014, Harris issued a report titled, "Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Crime",<ref>{{cite web|first=Kamala|last=Harris|url=https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/toc/report_2014.pdf|title=Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime|publisher=[[California Department of Justice]]|date=March 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802200557/https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/toc/report_2014.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> addressing the prominent role of drug, weapons, and human trafficking, money laundering, and technology crimes employed by various [[drug cartels]] from [[Mexico]], [[Armenian Power]], [[18th Street Gang]], and [[Mara Salvatrucha|MS-13]] and offering recommendations for state and local law enforcement to combat the criminal activity.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jeremy|last=White|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2593534.html|title=California Attorney General Kamala Harris targets transnational organized crime|website=[[The Sacramento Bee]]|date=March 20, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816235149/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article2593534.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Harris led a bipartisan delegation of [[State attorney general|state attorneys general]] to [[Mexico City]] to discuss transnational crime with Mexican prosecutors.<ref>{{cite web|first=Melanie|last=Mason|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2014-feb-19-la-me-pc-kamala-harris-20140219-story.html|title=Atty. Gen. Harris announces trip to Mexico to address gang issue|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 19, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235728/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2014-feb-19-la-me-pc-kamala-harris-20140219-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris then convened a summit focused on the use of technology to fight transnational organized crime with state and federal officials from the U.S., Mexico, and [[El Salvador]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scvnews.com/states-attorneys-general-to-powwow-with-mexican-counterparts/|title=States' Attorneys General to Powwow with Mexican Counterparts|publisher=SCV News|date=March 17, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803004613/https://scvnews.com/states-attorneys-general-to-powwow-with-mexican-counterparts/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
== U.S. Senate (2017–2021) ==
=== Election ===
{{Main|2016 United States Senate election in California}}
[[File:Kamala Harris for Senate.svg|thumb|right|Senate campaign logo, 2016]]
 
After more than 20 years as a U.S. Senator from California, Senator [[Barbara Boxer]] announced in January 2015 that she would not run for reelection in 2016.<ref name=":5">{{cite news|last=Mehta|first=Seema|date=January 13, 2015|title=Kamala Harris launches U.S. Senate bid, begins raising money|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-harris-launches-us-senate-bid-begins-raising-money-20150113-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=January 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113200929/http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-harris-launches-us-senate-bid-begins-raising-money-20150113-story.html|archive-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> Harris announced her candidacy for the Senate seat the following week.<ref name=":5" /> Harris was a top contender from the beginning of her campaign.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Kane|first=Will|date=November 7, 2016|title=Why Is the Most Groundbreaking Senate Race Ever So Uninspiring?|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/2016-california-senate-harris-sanchez-jungle-open-primary-reform-214429|access-date=November 19, 2020|website=POLITICO Magazine|language=en}}</ref>
 
The 2016 California Senate election used California's new top-two primary format where the top two candidates in the primary would advance to the general election regardless of party.<ref name=":02" /> In February 2016, Harris won 78% of the [[California Democratic Party]] vote at the party convention, allowing Harris's campaign to receive financial support from the party.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cadelago|first=Christopher|date=February 27, 2016|title=Kamala Harris receives California Democratic Party endorsement|work=The Sacramento Bee|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article62985987.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215142830/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article62985987.html|archive-date=February 15, 2019}}</ref> Three months later, Governor Jerry Brown endorsed her.<ref>{{cite news|last=Willon|first=Phil|date=May 23, 2016|title=California Gov. Jerry Brown backs Kamala Harris for U.S. Senate|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-jerry-brown-kamala-harris-endorsement-htmlstory.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405165645/https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-jerry-brown-kamala-harris-endorsement-htmlstory.html|archive-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref> In the June 7 primary, Harris came in first with 40% of the vote and won with pluralities in most counties.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 2016|title=United States Senator (primary results)|url=http://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-primary/75-us-senate-formatted.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826130419/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-primary/75-us-senate-formatted.pdf|archive-date=August 26, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|publisher=[[California Secretary of State]]}}</ref> Harris faced congresswoman and fellow Democrat [[Loretta Sanchez]] in the general election.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 7, 2016|title=Kamala Harris wins U.S. Senate primary|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-primary-election-20160607-snap-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304132859/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-primary-election-20160607-snap-story.html|archive-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref> It was the first time a Republican did not appear in a general election for the Senate since California began directly electing senators in 1914.<ref>{{cite news|last=Myers|first=John|date=June 8, 2016|title=Two Democrats will face off for California's U.S. Senate seat, marking first time a Republican will not be in contention|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-primary-election-20160607-snap-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304132859/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-primary-election-20160607-snap-story.html|archive-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref>
 
On July 19, President [[Barack Obama]] and Vice President [[Joe Biden]] endorsed Harris.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Willon|first1=Phil|date=July 19, 2016|title=Obama, Biden endorse Kamala Harris for U.S. Senate|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-obama-biden-endorse-kamala-harris-for-1468889660-htmlstory.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719145452/http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-obama-biden-endorse-kamala-harris-for-1468889660-htmlstory.html|archive-date=July 19, 2016|access-date=July 19, 2016|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In the [[United States Senate elections, 2016|November 2016 election]], Harris defeated Sanchez, capturing over 60% of the vote, carrying all but four counties.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Live California election results|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=http://graphics.latimes.com/la-na-pol-2016-election-results-california/|url-status=live|access-date=November 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109220737/http://graphics.latimes.com/la-na-pol-2016-election-results-california/|archive-date=November 9, 2016}}</ref> Following her victory, she promised to protect immigrants from the policies of President-elect [[Donald Trump]] and announced her intention to remain Attorney General through the end of 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Willon|first=Phil|date=November 10, 2016|title=Newly elected Kamala Harris vows to defy Trump on immigration|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-kamala-harris-trump-20161110-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235607/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-senate-kamala-harris-trump-20161110-story.html|archive-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Willon|first=Phil|date=December 1, 2016|title=Essential Politics November archives|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-kamala-harris-plans-to-keep-her-day-job-1478832067-htmlstory.html|url-status=live|access-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217150000/http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-kamala-harris-plans-to-keep-her-day-job-1478832067-htmlstory.html|archive-date=December 17, 2016|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>
 
=== Tenure and political positions ===
 
{{See also|Political positions of Kamala Harris}}
 
==== 2017 ====
 
[[File:Senator Harris official senate portrait.jpg|thumb|287x287px|Harris's official Senate portrait]]
On January 28, after Trump signed [[Executive Order 13769]], barring citizens from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for ninety days, she condemned the order and was one of many to describe it as a "Muslim ban".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-plans-to-sign-executive-action-on-refugees-extreme-vetting/index.html|title=Trump signs executive order to keep out 'radical Islamic terrorists'|date=January 30, 2017|first=Dan|last=Merica|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804083608/https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-plans-to-sign-executive-action-on-refugees-extreme-vetting/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She called [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[John F. Kelly]] at home to gather information and push back against the executive order.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ting|first1=Eric|title=Kamala Harris says John Kelly got mad when she called him at home during the travel ban|url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-2020-John-Kelly-travel-ban-book-13518859.php|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 8, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802191704/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-2020-John-Kelly-travel-ban-book-13518859.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In February, Harris spoke in opposition to Trump's cabinet picks [[Betsy DeVos]] for [[Secretary of Education]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201702-htmlstory.html|title=Sen. Kamala Harris speaks out against Betsy DeVos as part of Democrats' 24-hour blitz on Senate floor|date=February 6, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815215602/https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201702-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Jeff Sessions]] for [[United States Attorney General]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newsone.com/3661775/sen-kamala-harris-will-argue-against-confirming-sessions/|access-date=April 22, 2020|title=Sen. Kamala Harris: 'You Deserve An Attorney General Who Recognizes The Full Human Quality Of All People'|date=February 8, 2017|publisher=newsone.com|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223143/https://newsone.com/3661775/sen-kamala-harris-will-argue-against-confirming-sessions/|url-status=live}}</ref> In early March, she called on Sessions to resign, after it was reported that Sessions spoke twice with [[Russian Ambassador to the United States]] [[Sergey Kislyak]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article135980818.html|title=Kamala Harris calls on attorney general to resign over contacts with the Russians|date=March 2, 2017|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|first=Sean|last=Cockerham|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812003300/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article135980818.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
[[File:Kamala Harris takes oath of office as United States Senator by Vice President Joe Biden.jpg|thumb|Harris was sworn into the [[United States Senate|Senate]] by then Vice President Biden on January 3, 2017.]]
In April, Harris voted against the confirmation of [[Neil Gorsuch]] to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Adam Liptak|author-link=Adam Liptak|last2=Matt Flegenheimer|title=Neil Gorsuch Confirmed by Senate as Supreme Court Justice|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court.html|access-date=April 15, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 8, 2017|page=A1|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429054521/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Harris took her first foreign trip to the Middle East, visiting California troops stationed in [[Iraq]] and the [[Zaatari refugee camp]] in Jordan, the largest camp for Syrian refugees.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sen. Kamala Harris visits troops, refugee camp in Middle East|url=https://abc7.com/sen-kamala-harris-syria-refugees-town-hall/1885500/|access-date=May 16, 2019|work=[[ABC News]]|date=April 17, 2017|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223142/https://abc7.com/sen-kamala-harris-syria-refugees-town-hall/1885500/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In June, Harris garnered media attention for her questioning of [[Rod Rosenstein]], the [[United States Deputy Attorney General|deputy attorney general]], over the role he played in the [[Dismissal of James Comey|May 2017 firing]] of [[James Comey]], the [[director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation]].<ref name="Harris reminded">{{cite news|last=Jalonick|first=Mary Clare|agency=Associated Press|date=June 7, 2017|title=Harris Reminded to Be Respectful During Intel Hearing|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-06-07/gop-senator-admonishes-democrat-for-persistent-questioning|work=U.S. News & World Report|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803062412/https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-06-07/gop-senator-admonishes-democrat-for-persistent-questioning|url-status=live}}</ref> The prosecutorial nature of her questioning caused Senator [[John McCain]], an ''[[ex officio]]'' member of the Intelligence Committee, and Senator [[Richard Burr]], the committee chairman, to interrupt her and request that she be more respectful of the witness. A week later, she questioned Jeff Sessions, the [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]], on the same topic.<ref name="Sessions nervous">{{cite news|last=Finnegan|first=Michael|date=June 14, 2017|title=Sen. Kamala Harris leaves Sessions 'nervous' in interrogation over his refusal to disclose conversations with Trump|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-sen-kamala-harris-and-sessions-face-1497387259-htmlstory.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=July 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704034800/https://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-sen-kamala-harris-and-sessions-face-1497387259-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Sessions said her questioning "makes me nervous".<ref>{{Cite news|last=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=November 7, 2020|title=Kamala Harris: America's first woman vice president|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201107-kamala-harris-america-s-first-woman-vice-president|access-date=December 5, 2020|work=[[France 24]]|language=en}}</ref> Burr's singling out of Harris sparked suggestions in the news media that his behavior was sexist, with commentators arguing that Burr would not treat a male Senate colleague in a similar manner.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ansari|first=M. K.|date=June 8, 2017|title=The Silencing Of Kamala Harris During The Senate Hearing Was Sexist: Why do people take issue when a woman asks direct questions?|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sen-kamala-harris-shushed-women-politicians-are_us_593983bce4b094fa859f1668|work=HuffPost|location=New York|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=October 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012045541/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sen-kamala-harris-shushed-women-politicians-are_us_593983bce4b094fa859f1668|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In December, Harris called for the resignation of Senator [[Al Franken]], asserting on Twitter, "Sexual harassment and misconduct should not be allowed by anyone and should not occur anywhere."<ref>{{cite news |first=Casey |last=Tolan |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/06/kamala-harris-calls-on-al-franken-to-resign-amid-sexual-harassment-allegations/ |url-status=live |title=Harris, Feinstein call on Al Franken to resign after sexual harassment allegations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816134028/https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/06/kamala-harris-calls-on-al-franken-to-resign-amid-sexual-harassment-allegations/ |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |newspaper=San Jose Mercury News |date=December 6, 2017 }}</ref>
 
==== 2018 ====
 
In January, Harris was appointed to the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] after the resignation of Al Franken.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/01/09/democrats-add-harris-booker-to-senate-judiciary-committee/|title=Democrats add Harris, Booker to Senate Judiciary Committee|last=Weigel|first=David|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 12, 2020|date=January 9, 2018|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611195000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/01/09/democrats-add-harris-booker-to-senate-judiciary-committee/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Harris questioned [[United States Secretary of Homeland Security|Homeland Security Secretary]] [[Kirstjen Nielsen]] for favoring Norwegian immigrants over others and claiming to be unaware that Norway is a predominantly white country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://qz.com/1180864/kristen-nielsen-trumps-department-of-homeland-security-chief-on-shithole-countries/ |title=Trump's DHS chief perfectly recalls his praise for Norway—but not "shithole" |work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |date=January 16, 2018 |first=Ana |last=Campoy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://observer.com/2018/01/kirstjen-nielsen-trump-remark/ |title=Cory Booker and Kamala Harris Grill Kirstjen Nielsen Over Trump's Racial Remarks |first=Davis |last=Richardson |date=January 16, 2018 |work=[[The New York Observer]] }}</ref>
 
In May, Harris heatedly questioned Secretary Nielsen about the [[Trump administration family separation policy]], under which children were separated from their families when the parents were taken into custody for illegally entering the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/16/homeland-security-chief-defends-policy-separates-families-entering-u-s/614505002/|title=Homeland Security chief defends policy that separates families entering U.S. illegally|work=[[USA Today]]|date=May 16, 2018|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Bacon|first=John|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609101702/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/16/homeland-security-chief-defends-policy-separates-families-entering-u-s/614505002/|url-status=live}}</ref> In June, after visiting one of the detention facilities near the border in San Diego,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sloss|first1=Jason|title='Utter despair': Sen. Harris visits migrant mothers separated from children in San Diego|url=https://fox5sandiego.com/2018/06/22/sen-kamala-harris-to-visit-migrant-mothers-separated-from-children-in-san-diego/|access-date=November 9, 2018|work=Fox 5 San Diego|date=June 22, 2018|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040529/https://fox5sandiego.com/2018/06/22/sen-kamala-harris-to-visit-migrant-mothers-separated-from-children-in-san-diego/|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris became the first senator to demand Nielsen's resignation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Byrne|first1=Trapper|title=Kamala Harris says DHS chief should resign over immigrant family separations|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-says-DHS-chief-should-resign-over-13004563.php|access-date=May 8, 2020|work=Advocate|date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223144/https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-says-DHS-chief-should-resign-over-13004563.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
[[File:Kamala Harris in Selma - 2018.jpg|thumb|Harris (center) at the 2018 commemorations of [[Selma to Montgomery marches#"Bloody Sunday" events|Bloody Sunday]] in [[Selma, Alabama|Selma]], where she was invited to speak by [[John Lewis]] (right)<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2018 |title=Lawmakers reflect on Selma beyond Bloody Sunday |language=en-US |work=WCBI |agency=CBS News |url=https://www.wcbi.com/lawmakers-reflect-on-selma-beyond-bloody-sunday/ |access-date=December 23, 2020}}</ref>]]
In the September and October [[Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination|Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings]], Harris questioned [[Brett Kavanaugh]] about a meeting he may have had regarding the Mueller Investigation with a member of [[Kasowitz Benson Torres]], the law firm founded by the President's personal attorney [[Marc Kasowitz]]. Kavanaugh was unable to answer and repeatedly deflected.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zhou|first1=Li|title=Kamala Harris's mysterious Kasowitz question during the Kavanaugh hearings, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/9/6/17826498/kamala-harris-kasowitz-question-kavanaugh-hearings|access-date=May 4, 2020|work=Vox|date=September 6, 2018|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608223140/https://www.vox.com/2018/9/6/17826498/kamala-harris-kasowitz-question-kavanaugh-hearings|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris also participated in questioning the FBI director's limited scope of the investigation on Kavanaugh regarding allegations of sexual assault.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy|title=FBI Head Stonewalls as Kamala Harris Grills Him on Kavanaugh Probe|url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/10/10/fbi-head-stonewalls-kamala-harris-grills-him-kavanaugh-probe|access-date=November 9, 2018|work=Advocate|date=October 10, 2018|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110083434/https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/10/10/fbi-head-stonewalls-kamala-harris-grills-him-kavanaugh-probe|url-status=live}}</ref> She voted against his confirmation.
 
Harris was a target of the [[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stanton|first1=Sam|last2=McGough|first2=Mike|last3=Yoon-Hendricks|first3=Alex|title=Suspicious package in Sacramento addressed to Sen. Kamala Harris, sources say|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article220670830.html|access-date=May 15, 2020|work=The Sacramento Bee|date=October 26, 2018|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630131952/https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article220670830.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In December, the Senate passed the [[Justice for Victims of Lynching Act]] (S. 3178), sponsored by Harris.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/lynching-federal-hate-crime.html|title=Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Making Lynching a Federal Crime|last=Zaveri|first=Mihir|date=December 20, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 6, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220214541/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/lynching-federal-hate-crime.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The bill, which died in the House, would have made lynching a federal hate crime.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3178/ |title=S.3178 – Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018, 115th Congress (2017–2018) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311171539/https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3178 |archive-date=March 11, 2020 |website=Congress.gov }}</ref>
 
==== 2019 ====
[[File:Kamala Harris (48390414112) (crop1).jpg|thumb|upright|Harris at [[SF Pride Parade]] 2019]]
 
In March 2019, after Special Counsel [[Robert Mueller]] submitted [[Mueller Report|his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election]], Harris called for U.S. Attorney General [[William Barr]] to testify before Congress in the interests of transparency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/2020-democrats-demand-mueller-report-be-made-public-n986511|title='Release the report. Release the report. Release the report.' 2020 Dems demand Mueller report be made public.|work=[[NBC News]]|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Clark|first=Dartunorro|archive-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520161929/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/2020-democrats-demand-mueller-report-be-made-public-n986511|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, Barr released a four-page "summary" of the redacted Mueller Report, which was criticized as a deliberate mischaracterization of its conclusions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/media-beware-impeachment-hearings-will-be-the-trickiest-test-of-covering-trump/2019/11/08/1f2b0aac-0239-11ea-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html|title=Media beware: Impeachment hearings will be the trickiest test of covering Trump|first=Margaret|last=Sullivan|date=November 10, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=November 11, 2019|archive-date=November 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110233140/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/media-beware-impeachment-hearings-will-be-the-trickiest-test-of-covering-trump/2019/11/08/1f2b0aac-0239-11ea-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Harris was one of twelve Democratic senators to sign a letter led by [[Mazie Hirono]] questioning Barr's decision to offer "his own conclusion that the President's conduct did not amount to obstruction of justice" and called for an investigation into whether Barr's summary of the Mueller Report and his statements at a news conference were misleading.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/30/william-barr-investigation-mueller-1293214|title=Senate Dems call on DOJ watchdog to investigate Barr|first=Marianne|last=Levine|date=April 30, 2019|work=Politico|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802222637/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/30/william-barr-investigation-mueller-1293214|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On May 1, 2019, Barr testified before the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-complained-that-barrs-letter-did-not-capture-context-of-trump-probe/2019/04/30/d3c8fdb6-6b7b-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html|title=Mueller complained that Barr's letter did not capture 'context' of Trump probe|date=April 30, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 16, 2020|archive-date=April 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430234349/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-complained-that-barrs-letter-did-not-capture-context-of-trump-probe/2019/04/30/d3c8fdb6-6b7b-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html |first1=Devlin |last1=Barrett |first2=Matt |last2=Zapotosky |url-status=live}}</ref> During the hearing, Barr remained defiant about the misrepresentations in the four-page summary he had released ahead of the full report.<ref>{{cite news|title=Barr defiant amid furor over his handling of Mueller report|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/politics/bill-barr-hearing-congress-senate/index.html|first=Laura|last=Jarrett|publisher=CNN|date=May 2, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809101319/https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/politics/bill-barr-hearing-congress-senate/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When asked by Harris if he had reviewed the underlying evidence before deciding not to charge the President with obstruction of justice, Barr admitted that neither he, [[Rod Rosenstein]], nor anyone in his office reviewed the evidence supporting the report before making the charging decision.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris Guts Barr Like a Fish, Leaves Him Flopping on the Deck|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/kamala-harris-william-barr|first=Bess|last=Levin|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=May 1, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606101726/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/kamala-harris-william-barr|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris later called for Barr to resign, and accused him of refusing to answer her questions because he could open himself up to [[perjury]], and stating his responses disqualified him from serving as U.S. attorney general.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris accuses Barr of not answering her question to avoid exposure to perjury|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/02/politics/kamala-harris-bill-barr-hearing-cnntv/index.html|first=Veronica|last=Stracqualursi|publisher=CNN|date=May 2, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730135802/https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/02/politics/kamala-harris-bill-barr-hearing-cnntv/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dems-grill-barr-amid-reports-mueller-s-frustration-n1000546|title=Barr defends himself amid calls for resignation, slights Mueller's 'snitty' letter|work=[[NBC News]]|date=May 1, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Shabad|first=Rebecca|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624155406/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dems-grill-barr-amid-reports-mueller-s-frustration-n1000546|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, Harris demanded again that the Department of Justice inspector general [[Michael E. Horowitz]] investigate whether Attorney General Barr acceded to pressure from the White House to investigate Trump's political enemies.<ref>{{cite news|title=Harris urges DOJ watchdog to probe whether Trump asked Barr to investigate 'enemies'|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/03/kamala-harris-barr-trump-1301502|last=Levine|first=Marianne|work=[[Politico]]|date=May 3, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213443/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/03/kamala-harris-barr-trump-1301502|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On May 5, 2019, Harris said "voter suppression" prevented Democrats [[Stacey Abrams]] and [[Andrew Gillum]] from winning the 2018 gubernatorial elections in [[2018 Georgia gubernatorial election|Georgia]] and [[2018 Florida gubernatorial election|Florida]]; Abrams lost by 55,000 votes and Gillum lost by 32,000 votes. According to election law expert [[Richard L. Hasen]], "I have seen no good evidence that the suppressive effects of strict voting and registration laws affected the outcome of the governor's races in Georgia and Florida."<ref name="Kamala Harris says voter suppression kept Stacey Abrams, Andrew Gillum out of office. Really?">{{cite web |last1=Sherman |first1=Amy |title=Kamala Harris says voter suppression kept Stacey Abrams, Andrew Gillum out of office. Really? |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/may/10/fact-checking-kamala-harris-claim-stacey-abrams-an/ |website=[[PolitiFact]] |access-date=September 20, 2021 |date=May 1, 2019}}</ref>


== Early life ==
In July, Harris teamed with [[Kirsten Gillibrand]] to urge the [[Trump administration]] to investigate the allegations of [[Uyghur genocide]] by the [[Chinese Communist Party]]; in this question she was joined by colleague [[Marco Rubio]].<ref name=apng>{{Cite web|date=June 30, 2020|title=Calls for UN probe of China forced birth control on Uighurs|url=https://apnews.com/98f18c964e66a8682a8e257e97714fd9|access-date=July 1, 2020|publisher=The Associated Press}}</ref>
Harris was born at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in [[Oakland, California]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=What California Knows About Kamala Harris|url=https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2020/08/11/what-california-knows-about-kamala-harris|access-date=2020-08-12|website=North Coast Journal|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-18|title=Here’s Kamala Harris’ birth certificate. Scholars say there’s no VP eligibility debate|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/18/heres-kamala-harris-birth-certificate-end-of-debate|access-date=2020-12-23|website=The Mercury News|language=en-US}}</ref> She is [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Indian American]] and [[Jamaican American]]. Her parents are Shyamala Gopalan Harris (Chennai-born native Tamilian) and Donald Harris. Both Shyamala and Donald Harris studied at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. Harris' parents divorced in 1971. In 1976, Harris moved to [[Canada]] with her mother and sister. Harris went to college at [[Howard University]] in 1986 and got a degree in political science.


==Career==
In November, Harris called for an investigation into the death of Roxsana Hernández, a transgender woman and immigrant who died in [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] custody.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-and-blumenthal-demand-special-counsel-to-investigate-failure-to-preserve-evidence-within-dhs-and-ice |date=November 1, 2019 |title=Harris and Blumenthal Demand Special Counsel to Investigate Failure to Preserve Evidence Within DHS and ICE |publisher=U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California |access-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218045811/https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-and-blumenthal-demand-special-counsel-to-investigate-failure-to-preserve-evidence-within-dhs-and-ice |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.glaad.org/blog/joe-biden-announces-kamala-harris-his-running-mate-here-where-she-stands-lgbtq-issues|title=Joe Biden announces Kamala Harris as his running mate. Here is where she stands on LGBTQ issues|last=Davis|first=Georgia|date=August 11, 2020|website=GLAAD}}</ref>
In 1989, Harris became a lawyer after studying at Hastings College of Law at the [[University of California]]. She worked in the office of the [[District attorney|District Attorney]] of Alameda in 1990. In 1998, Harris left to work for the District Attorney’s office in San Francisco. In 2003, Harris became the District Attorney of San Francisco.


She worked as the [[Attorney General of California]] until 2017 when she became a senator for California.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618006718/SUIC?u=palo88030&sid=SUIC&xid=75ec2aec|title=Kamala Harris|last=Newsmakers|date=2017|website=Student Resources In Context|access-date=May 8, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
In December, Harris led a group of Democratic senators and civil rights organizations in demanding the removal of White House senior adviser [[Stephen Miller (political advisor)|Stephen Miller]] after emails published by the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] revealed frequent promotion of [[white nationalist]] literature to [[Breitbart News|Breitbart]] website editors.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris Leads Senators in Demanding 'Immediate Removal' Of Stephen Miller|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephen-miller-kamala-harris-senators-letter-white-nationalist_n_5ded8571e4b00563b8534265|first=Christopher|last=Mathias|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=December 9, 2019|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802214720/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephen-miller-kamala-harris-senators-letter-white-nationalist_n_5ded8571e4b00563b8534265|url-status=live}}</ref>


===2016 Senate run ===
==== 2020 ====
At the start of 2016, Harris said that she would attempt to become senator after [[Barbara Boxer]] said that she would not work as a senator for the next term. Harris won the position in 2016 and became a senator on January 3, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=BIC&u=palo88030&id=GALE%7CK1606003853&v=2.1&it=r&sid=BIC&asid=8307aad6|title=Kamala D. Harris|date=March 8, 2017|website=Biography in Context|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-date=April 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405213043/http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=BIC&u=palo88030&id=GALE%7CK1606003853&v=2.1&it=r&sid=BIC&asid=8307aad6|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Congressional Black Caucus women 2019.jpg|thumb|Harris with [[Congressional Black Caucus]] women]]


== 2020 presidential campaign==
Before the opening of the [[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|impeachment trial of Donald Trump]] on January 16, 2020, Harris delivered remarks on the floor of the Senate, stating her views on the integrity of the American justice system and the principle that nobody, including an incumbent president, is above the law. Harris later asked Senate Judiciary chairman [[Lindsey Graham]] to halt all judicial nominations during the impeachment trial, to which Graham acquiesced.<ref>{{cite news|title=Senate Judiciary Pauses Nominations for Impeachment Trial (1)|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/senate-judiciary-pauses-nominations-for-impeachment-trial|first=Madison|last=Adler|work=[[Bloomberg Law]]|date=January 15, 2020|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803014009/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/senate-judiciary-pauses-nominations-for-impeachment-trial|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kamala-harris-calls-for-halt-to-advancement-of-judicial-nominees-during-impeachment-proceedings|title=Sen. Kamala Harris calls for halt to advancement of judicial nominees; is it happening?|work=[[ABA Journal]]|date=January 16, 2020|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Weiss|first=Debra Cassens|archive-date=July 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705080641/https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kamala-harris-calls-for-halt-to-advancement-of-judicial-nominees-during-impeachment-proceedings|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris voted to convict the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.<ref>{{cite news|title=How senators voted on Trump's impeachment|url=https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/trump-impeachment-vote-count-senate-results/|work=[[Politico]]|date=February 5, 2020|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=February 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205215232/https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/trump-impeachment-vote-count-senate-results/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{main|Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign}}
On January 21, 2019, she officially announced her [[Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign|campaign]] for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name="harris announcement">{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/politics/kamala-harris-president-2020/index.html?cid=web-alerts&nsid=94986245|title=Kamala Harris to run for president in 2020|date=January 21, 2019|first=Maeve|last=Reston|work=CNN}}</ref> After months of falling polling numbers and low campaign money raised, she ended her campaign on December 3, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/03/kamala-harris-drops-out-out-of-presidential-race-074902|title=Kamala Harris drops out of presidential race|date=December 3, 2019|first=Christopher|last=Cadelago|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref>


On August 11, 2020, Biden picked Harris as his [[running mate]]. On November 7, the Biden-Harris ticket beat the [[Donald Trump|Trump]]-[[Mike Pence|Pence]] ticket making her the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president-elect]].<ref name="zeleny">{{Cite news|last1=Zeleny|first1=Jeff|last2=Merica|first2=Dan|last3=Saenz|first3=Arlette|date=August 11, 2020|title=Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his running mate|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/biden-vp-pick/index.html}}</ref><ref name="APSelects">{{Cite news|date=August 11, 2020|title=Joe Biden selects California Sen. Kamala Harris as running mate|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/nation-world/2020/08/11/biden-selects-california-sen-kamala-harris-as-running-mate/|quote=selecting the first African American woman and South Asian American to compete on a major party's presidential ticket|website=tampabay.com}}</ref><ref name="APResonate">{{Cite news|date=August 12, 2020|title=Kamala Harris' selection as VP resonates with Black women|last=Stafford|first=Kat|agency=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/46ef207f32a089b2b54ed35d57c9413f|quote=making her the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket{{nbsp}}... It also marks the first time a person of Asian descent is on the presidential ticket.}}</ref>
Harris has worked on bipartisan bills with Republican co-sponsors, including a bail reform bill with Senator [[Rand Paul]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rand-paul-kamala-harris-team-reform-bail-practices-n794031|title=Rand Paul and Kamala Harris Team Up to Reform Bail Practices|last=Hamilton|first=Dawchelle|work=NBC News|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323081855/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rand-paul-kamala-harris-team-reform-bail-practices-n794031|url-status=live}}</ref> an election security bill with Senator [[James Lankford]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/22/election-security-bill-congress-437472|title=Lawmakers gather behind election security bill – at last|last=Matishak|first=Martin|website=Politico|date=March 22, 2018|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326054720/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/22/election-security-bill-congress-437472|url-status=live}}</ref> and a workplace harassment bill with Senator [[Lisa Murkowski]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-lisa-murkowski-sexual-harassment-nda-bill|title=Two Women Senators Will Introduce A New Bill About Workplace Harassment|last=Hensley-Clancy|first=Molly|website=BuzzFeedNews|date=June 5, 2018|access-date=April 27, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421154604/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/kamala-harris-lisa-murkowski-sexual-harassment-nda-bill|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Vice president==
==== 2021 ====
Following her election as [[Vice President of the United States]], Harris resigned from her seat on January 18, 2021,<ref>{{cite news|title= Thank you, California. |url=https://medium.com/@SenKamalaHarris/thank-you-california-d89ff421a0a4 |last=Harris |first=Kamala |work=Medium.com |date=January 18, 2021 |access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref> prior to taking office on January 20, 2021, and was replaced by [[California Secretary of State]] [[Alex Padilla]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Newsom taps California election chief Padilla for US Senate |url=https://apnews.com/article/senate-elections-elections-california-alex-padilla-gavin-newsom-862028e7aef12cb995db549b7707cf7b |last=Ronayne |first=Kathleen |work=Associated Press |date=December 22, 2020 |access-date=December 22, 2020}}</ref>
 
=== Committee assignments ===
While in the Senate, Harris was a member of the following committees:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201612-htmlstory.html|first=John|last=Myers|date=December 19, 2016|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 22, 2020|title=Kamala Harris nabs national security, environment assignments in the U.S. Senate|archive-date=May 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514012749/https://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-201612-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]]'''
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]]'''
** [[United States Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management|Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management]]
** [[United States Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management|Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management]]
* '''[[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Select Committee on Intelligence]]'''
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Committee on the Judiciary]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-announces-updated-senate-democratic-committee-memberships-for-the-115th-congress-2nd-session|title=Schumer Announces Updated Senate Democratic Committee Memberships for the 115th Congress, 2nd Session|website=democrats.senate.gov|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=January 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174605/https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-announces-updated-senate-democratic-committee-memberships-for-the-115th-congress-2nd-session|url-status=live}}</ref>
** [[United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution|Subcommittee on the Constitution]]
** [[United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts|Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts]]
** [[United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law|Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law]]
 
=== Caucus memberships ===
* [[Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://capac-chu.house.gov/members|publisher=Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=May 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514183102/https://capac-chu.house.gov/members|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Congressional Black Caucus]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Membership|url=https://cbc.house.gov/membership/|publisher=Congressional Black Caucus|access-date=March 7, 2018|archive-date=April 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427095736/https://cbc.house.gov/membership/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues]]
 
== 2020 presidential election (2019–2020) ==
=== Presidential campaign ===
{{Main|Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign}}
[[File:Kamala Harris announcing her candidacy for presidency.png|thumb|Harris formally announced her run for the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020|Democratic nomination for president]] on January 27, 2019.]]
 
Harris had been considered a top contender and potential frontrunner for the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020|2020 Democratic nomination for president]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Beckett|first1=Lois|title=Kamala Harris: young, black, female – and the Democrats' best bet for 2020?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/22/kamala-harris-democratic-candidate-for-2020|website=The Guardian|access-date=July 10, 2018|date=July 22, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921011145/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/22/kamala-harris-democratic-candidate-for-2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2018, she was quoted as "not ruling it out".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/sen-kamala-harris-not-ruling-out-2020-white-house-run-n886166|title=Sen. Kamala Harris not ruling out 2020 White House run|work=[[NBC News]]|date=June 24, 2018|access-date=July 4, 2020|last=Hunt|first=Kasie|archive-date=August 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831171024/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/sen-kamala-harris-not-ruling-out-2020-white-house-run-n886166|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2018, it was announced that she would publish a memoir, a sign of a possible run.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/17/politics/kamala-harris-book-deal/index.html|title=Kamala Harris signs book deal amid 2020 speculation|first=Eric|last=Bradner|date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008150735/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/17/politics/kamala-harris-book-deal/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 21, 2019, Harris officially announced her [[Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign|candidacy]] for [[president of the United States]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name="harris announcement">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/politics/kamala-harris-president-2020/index.html|title=Kamala Harris to run for president in 2020|last=Reston|first=Maeve|date=January 21, 2019|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121145202/https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/politics/kamala-harris-president-2020/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the first 24{{nbsp}}hours after her candidacy announcement, she tied a record set by [[Bernie Sanders]] in 2016 for the most donations raised in the day following an announcement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kamala Harris raises $1.5 million in first 24 hours |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/22/kamala-harris-15-million-first-day-1119125 |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=David Wright |title=Kamala Harris touts $1.5 million haul in 24 hours after 2020 announcement |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/kamala-harris-fundraising-announcement/index.html |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=CNN|date=January 22, 2019 }}</ref> More than 20,000&nbsp;people attended her formal campaign launch event in her hometown of Oakland, California, on January 27, according to a police estimate.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris kicks off 2020 campaign with hometown Oakland rally|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Beckett|first=Lois|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/27/kamala-harris-2020-campaign-oakland-rally-democrats|date=January 27, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2019|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005092739/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/27/kamala-harris-2020-campaign-oakland-rally-democrats|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
During the first Democratic [[2020 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums|presidential debate]] in June 2019, Harris scolded former vice president Joe Biden for "hurtful" remarks he made, speaking fondly of senators who opposed integration efforts in the 1970s and working with them to oppose mandatory school bussing.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Flegenheimer|first1=Matt|last2=Burns|first2=Alexander|title=Kamala Harris Makes the Case That Joe Biden Should Pass That Torch to Her|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/kamala-harris-busing-joe-biden.html|website=The New York Times|date=June 27, 2019|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008112030/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/kamala-harris-busing-joe-biden.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris's support rose by between six and nine points in polls following that debate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/politics/2020-democratic-candidates-poll/index.html|title=CNN Poll: Harris and Warren rise and Biden slides after first Democratic debates|date=July 1, 2019|publisher=CNN|last=Agiesta|first=Jennifer|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010211931/https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/politics/2020-democratic-candidates-poll/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the second debate in August, Harris was confronted by Biden and Congresswoman [[Tulsi Gabbard]] over her record as attorney general.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record_n_5d424340e4b0aca3411841fb|title=Tulsi Gabbard Takes Kamala Harris To Task On Marijuana Prosecution Record|first=Alanna|last=Vagianos|date=July 31, 2019|website=HuffPost|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008025402/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-kamala-harris-criminal-justice-record_n_5d424340e4b0aca3411841fb|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]'' assessed that some of Gabbard's and Biden's accusations were on point, such as blocking the DNA testing of a death row inmate, while others did not stand up to scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath, Harris fell in the polls following that debate.<ref>{{cite web|first=Casey|last=Tolan|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/|title=Democratic debate: Fact-checking the attacks on Kamala Harris' criminal justice record|date=August 1, 2019|website=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005162846/https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/01/democratic-debate-kamala-harris-tulsi-gabbard-joe-biden-fact-check/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/polls-since-the-second-debate-show-kamala-harris-slipping/|title=Polls Since The Second Debate Show Kamala Harris Slipping|last=Silver|first=Nate|date=August 7, 2019|website=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|access-date=August 25, 2019|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010055757/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/polls-since-the-second-debate-show-kamala-harris-slipping/|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the next few months her poll numbers fell to the low single digits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Jonathan |last2=Herndon |first2=Alstead W. |last3=Burns |first3=Alexander |date=November 19, 2019 |title=How Kamala Harris's Campaign Unraveled |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/us/politics/kamala-harris-2020.html |url-status=bot: unknown |url-access=subscription |work=The New York Times |location=Washington, DC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627192502/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/us/politics/kamala-harris-2020.html |archive-date=June 27, 2022 |access-date=June 27, 2022 |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happened-to-the-kamala-harris-campaign/|title=What Happened to the Kamala Harris Campaign?|last=Bacon Jr.|first=Perry|date=October 8, 2019|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=December 3, 2019|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221659/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happened-to-the-kamala-harris-campaign/|url-status=live}}</ref> At a time when liberals were increasingly concerned about the excesses of the criminal justice system, Harris faced criticism from reformers for tough-on-crime policies she pursued while she was California's attorney general. For example, in 2014, she decided to defend California's death penalty in court.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dolan|first1=Maura|title=California AG Kamala Harris to appeal ruling against death penalty|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-death-penalty-appeal-20140821-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=August 21, 2014|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014113322/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-death-penalty-appeal-20140821-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Prior to and during her presidential campaign an online informal organization using the hashtag #[[KHive]] formed to support her candidacy and defend her from racist and sexist attacks.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Analysis {{!}} The Technology 202: Kamala Harris is already facing online attacks in her bid for the vice presidency|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/13/technology-202-kamala-harris-is-already-facing-online-attacks-bid-vice-presidency/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005223031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/13/technology-202-kamala-harris-is-already-facing-online-attacks-bid-vice-presidency/|archive-date=October 5, 2020|access-date=August 16, 2020|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}}</ref><ref name="zakrzewskiWAPO13aug2020">{{Cite news|last=Zakrzewski|first=Cat|date=August 13, 2020|title=Kamala Harris is already facing online attacks in her bid for the vice presidency|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/13/technology-202-kamala-harris-is-already-facing-online-attacks-bid-vice-presidency/|access-date=August 15, 2020|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005223031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/13/technology-202-kamala-harris-is-already-facing-online-attacks-bid-vice-presidency/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="zhouVOX25july2019">{{Cite web|last=Zhou|first=Li|date=July 25, 2019|title=The #KHive, Kamala Harris's most devoted online supporters, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/25/20697783/khive-twitter-kamala-harris-2020-candidate-doug-hive|access-date=August 15, 2020|website=Vox|language=en|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014030747/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/25/20697783/khive-twitter-kamala-harris-2020-candidate-doug-hive|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bixbyDBEAST12aug2020">{{Cite web|last=Bixby|first=Scott|date=August 12, 2020|title=Kamala Harris Built a 'Digital Army' – Now She Gets to Use It|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-built-a-digital-army-now-she-gets-to-use-it|access-date=August 15, 2020|website=The Daily Beast|language=en|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009152431/https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-built-a-digital-army-now-she-gets-to-use-it|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the ''[[The Daily Dot|Daily Dot]]'', [[Joy Reid]] first used the term in an August 2017 tweet saying "@Dr[[Jason Johnson (professor)|JasonJohnson]] @[[Zerlina Maxwell|ZerlinaMaxwell]] and I had a meeting and decided it's called the K-Hive."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thomas|first=Alex|date=August 12, 2020|title=What Is the K-Hive, Kamala Harris' Online Twitter Support?|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/k-hive-kamala-harris-twitter-2020/|access-date=August 16, 2020|website=The Daily Dot|language=en-US|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005113927/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/k-hive-kamala-harris-twitter-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On December 3, 2019, Harris withdrew from seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination, citing a shortage of funds.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Kamala|title=I am suspending my campaign today|url=https://medium.com/@KamalaHarris/i-am-suspending-my-campaign-today-6dca8cefb252|website=Medium|date=December 3, 2019 |access-date=December 4, 2019|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010184446/https://medium.com/@KamalaHarris/i-am-suspending-my-campaign-today-6dca8cefb252|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2020, Harris endorsed [[Joe Biden]] for president.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wootson Jr.|first1=Cleve R.|title=Sen. Kamala D. Harris endorses Joe Biden for president|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/08/2182dfca-6137-11ea-b3fc-7841686c5c57_story.html|access-date=March 9, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008143020/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/08/2182dfca-6137-11ea-b3fc-7841686c5c57_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== Vice presidential campaign ===
{{Main|Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign|2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection}}
[[File:Biden Harris logo.svg|thumb|Campaign logo for the Biden–Harris ticket]]
 
In May 2019, senior members of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]] endorsed the idea of a Biden–Harris ticket.<ref>{{cite news|title='A dream ticket': Black lawmakers pitch Biden-Harris to beat Trump|work=[[Politico]]|last=Caygle|first=Heather|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/12/joe-biden-kamala-harris-dream-ticket-1317561|date=May 12, 2019|access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008213806/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/12/joe-biden-kamala-harris-dream-ticket-1317561|url-status=live}}</ref> In late February, Biden won a landslide victory in the [[2020 South Carolina Democratic primary]] with the endorsement of House whip [[Jim Clyburn]], with more victories on [[Super Tuesday]]. In early March, Clyburn suggested Biden choose a black woman as a running mate, commenting that "African American women needed to be rewarded for their loyalty".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/clyburn-calls-democrats-shut-primary-down-if-biden-has-big-n1155131|title=Clyburn calls for Democrats to 'shut this primary down' if Biden has big night|work=[[NBC News]]|date=March 10, 2020|access-date=July 4, 2020|last1=Timm|first1=Jane C.|last2=Gregorian|first2=Dareh|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730170328/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/clyburn-calls-democrats-shut-primary-down-if-biden-has-big-n1155131|url-status=live}}</ref> In March, Biden committed to choosing a woman for his running mate.<ref>{{cite news|title=Joe Biden commits to picking a woman as his running mate|work=[[Axios (website)|Axios]]|url=https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-woman-running-mate-6add0a5b-2600-43b0-8e83-b38d74042881.html|date=March 16, 2020|access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008164423/https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-woman-running-mate-6add0a5b-2600-43b0-8e83-b38d74042881.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On April 17, 2020, Harris responded to media speculation and said she "would be honored" to be Biden's running mate.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris 'would be honored' to be Joe Biden's running mate|first1=Joe|last1=Garofoli|first2=Tal|last2=Kopan|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-would-be-honored-to-be-Joe-15209050.php|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008010206/https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-would-be-honored-to-be-Joe-15209050.php|url-status=live}}</ref> In late May, in relation to the [[murder of George Floyd]] and [[George Floyd protests|ensuing protests and demonstrations]], Biden faced renewed calls to select a black woman to be his running mate, highlighting the law enforcement credentials of Harris and [[Val Demings]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Minneapolis unrest shakes up VP shortlist|first1=Marc|last1=Caputo|first2=Natasha|last2=Korecki|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/31/joe-biden-vice-president-george-floyd-291063|date=May 31, 2020|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005105118/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/31/joe-biden-vice-president-george-floyd-291063|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On June 12, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Harris was emerging as the frontrunner to be Biden's running mate, as she was the only African American woman with the political experience typical of vice presidents.<ref name="NYT 06-12-2020">{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris, Front-runner (Again)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/briefing/kamala-harris-mark-milley-trump-rally-your-friday-briefing.html/|last=Leonhardt|first=David|work=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2020|access-date=June 12, 2020|archive-date=October 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012054011/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/briefing/kamala-harris-mark-milley-trump-rally-your-friday-briefing.html/|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 26, [[CNN]] reported that more than a dozen people close to the Biden search process considered Harris one of Biden's top four contenders, along with [[Elizabeth Warren]], [[Val Demings]], and [[Keisha Lance Bottoms]].<ref name="CNN 06-26-2020">{{cite news|last1=Zeleny|first1=Jeff|last2=Merica|first2=Dan|last3=Lee|first3=MJ|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/joe-biden-running-mate/index.html|title=Nation's reckoning on race looms large over final month of Biden's running mate search|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 26, 2020|access-date=June 27, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009131646/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/joe-biden-running-mate/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On August 11, 2020, Biden announced that he had chosen Harris. She was the first African American, the first [[Indian American]], and the third woman after [[Geraldine Ferraro]] and [[Sarah Palin]] to be picked as the vice-presidential nominee for a major party ticket.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53739323|title=Biden VP pick: Kamala Harris chosen as running mate|work=[[BBC News]]|date=August 11, 2020|access-date=August 11, 2020|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010223842/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53739323|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris is also the first resident of the [[Western United States]] to appear on the Democratic Party's national ticket.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ostermeier |first1=Eric |title=Will a Westerner Finally Land on a Democratic Presidential Ticket in 2020? |url=https://smartpolitics.lib.umn.edu/2019/01/23/will-a-westerner-finally-land-on-a-democratic-presidential-ticket-in-2020/ |website=Smart Politics |access-date=2022-11-27 |date=23 January 2019}}</ref>
 
Harris became the [[Vice President-elect of the United States|vice president–elect]] following the Biden-Harris ticket's victory in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Blood|first1=Michael R.|last2=Riccardi|first2=Nicholas|date=December 5, 2020|title=Biden officially secures enough electors to become president|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa|access-date=December 22, 2020|work=[[Associated Press|AP News]]}}</ref> After the major networks called the election for Biden/Harris, Harris was recorded calling Biden, saying, "We did it! We did it, Joe. You're going to be the next President of the United States." The quote became one of the top 10 tweets of 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chowdhury|first=Shatabdi|date=December 16, 2020|title= "We Did It, Joe": Top 10 Tweets Of 2020 |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/top-10-tweets-of-2020-we-did-it-joe-2338963?amp=1&akamai-rum=off |access-date=December 16, 2020|website=[[NDTV]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
==Vice presidency (2021–present)==
{{See also|Presidency of Joe Biden}}
[[File:Kamala Harris oath of office.jpg|thumb|Harris being sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2021|right]]
[[File:Kamala Harris oath of office.jpg|thumb|Harris being sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2021|right]]
After the election of Joe Biden as U.S. president in the 2020 election, Harris became [[Vice President of the United States]] on January 20, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/07/politics/kamala-harris-first-vice-president-female-black-south-asian/index.html|title=Harris bursts through another barrier, becoming the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect|first1=Brandon|last1=Tensley|last2=Wright|first2=Jasmine|work=CNN|date=November 7, 2020|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107194833/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/07/politics/kamala-harris-first-vice-president-female-black-south-asian/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the United States' first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first African-American and first [[Asian-American]] vice president.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|last1=Horowitz|first1=Juliana Menasce|last2=Budiman|first2=Abby|date=2020-08-18|title=Key findings about multiracial identity in the U.S. as Harris becomes vice presidential nominee|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/18/key-findings-about-multiracial-identity-in-the-u-s-as-harris-becomes-vice-presidential-nominee/|access-date=2020-11-08|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-07|title=Kamala Harris Makes History As First Female, Black, Asian American Vice President|first=Jemima|last=McEvoy|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/11/07/kamala-harris-makes-history-as-first-female-black-asian-american-vice-president/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=Forbes}}</ref> She is also the second [[person of color]] to hold the post. The first was [[Charles Curtis]], who was a [[Native American]] and member of the [[Kaw Nation]].<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news |date=August 12, 2020 |title=Here Are The 'Firsts' Kamala Harris Represents With VP Candidacy |first=Andrew |last=Solender |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/12/here-are-the-firsts-kamala-harris-represents-with-vp-candidacy/ |quote=Harris would not be the first person of color to serve as vice president. That honor belongs to Charles Curtis, President Herbert Hoover's No. 2. |work=Forbes |access-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-date=September 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902023222/https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/12/here-are-the-firsts-kamala-harris-represents-with-vp-candidacy/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Following the election of Joe Biden as U.S. president in the 2020 election, Harris assumed office as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/07/politics/kamala-harris-first-vice-president-female-black-south-asian/index.html|title=Harris bursts through another barrier, becoming the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect|first1=Brandon|last1=Tensley|last2=Wright|first2=Jasmine|work=CNN|date=November 7, 2020|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107194833/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/07/politics/kamala-harris-first-vice-president-female-black-south-asian/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the United States' first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first African-American and first [[Asian-American]] vice president.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Juliana Menasce|last2=Budiman|first2=Abby|date=August 18, 2020|title=Key findings about multiracial identity in the U.S. as Harris becomes vice presidential nominee|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/18/key-findings-about-multiracial-identity-in-the-u-s-as-harris-becomes-vice-presidential-nominee/|access-date=November 8, 2020|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=November 7, 2020|title=Kamala Harris Makes History As First Female, Black, Asian American Vice President|first=Jemima|last=McEvoy|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/11/07/kamala-harris-makes-history-as-first-female-black-asian-american-vice-president/|access-date=November 13, 2020|work=Forbes}}</ref> She is also the second [[person of color]] to hold the post, preceded by [[Charles Curtis]], a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] and member of the [[Kaw Nation]], who served under [[Herbert Hoover]] from 1929 to 1933.<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news|date=August 12, 2020|title=Here Are The 'Firsts' Kamala Harris Represents With VP Candidacy|first=Andrew|last=Solender|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/12/here-are-the-firsts-kamala-harris-represents-with-vp-candidacy/|quote=Harris would not be the first person of color to serve as vice president. That honor belongs to Charles Curtis, President Herbert Hoover's No. 2.|work=Forbes|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=September 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902023222/https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/12/here-are-the-firsts-kamala-harris-represents-with-vp-candidacy/|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the third person with acknowledged non-European ancestry to reach one of the highest offices in the executive branch, after Curtis and former president [[Barack Obama]].
 
Harris resigned her Senate seat on January 18, 2021, two days before [[Inauguration of Joe Biden|her swearing-in]] as vice president. Her first act as vice president was [[swearing in]] her replacement [[Alex Padilla]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] senators [[Raphael Warnock]] and [[Jon Ossoff]], who were elected in the [[2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia|2021 Georgia runoff election]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hayes|first=Christal|date=January 20, 2021|title=Democrats officially take control of Senate after Harris swears in Ossoff, Warnock and Padilla|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/20/warnock-ossoff-sworn-in-giving-democrats-majority-senate/4217985001/|access-date=January 21, 2021|work=USA Today|location=Washington|language=en-US}}</ref> <!-- Disambiguation link intentional to refer to both events -->
 
[[File:VP Harris arrives in Guatemala.jpg|thumb|Harris arrives in Guatemala during her first foreign trip as vice president, June 2021.]]
Upon taking office on January 20, 2021, the [[117th United States Congress|117th Congress]]'s Senate was divided 50–50 between [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/democrats-to-take-senate-majority-when-warnock-ossoff-and-padilla-are-sworn-in.html|title=Democrats take Senate majority, sealing control of the White House and Congress|first=Jacob|last=Pramuk|date=January 20, 2021|website=CNBC}}</ref> this meant that Harris had to be frequently called upon to exercise her power to cast [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|tie-breaking votes]] as [[Vice_President_of_the_United_States#President_of_the_United_States_Senate|president of the Senate]]. Harris cast her first two tie-breaking votes on February 5, 2021. In February and March, Harris's tie-breaking votes were crucial in passing the [[American Rescue Plan Act of 2021]] stimulus package proposed by President Biden since no Republicans in the Senate voted for the package.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-relief-package-senate-passes-budget-plan/|title=Senate passes $1.9 trillion COVID relief resolution after all-night 'vote-a-rama'|work=CBS News|first=Grace|last=Segers|date=February 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Maanvi|last2=Greve|first2=Joan E.|last3=Belam|first3=Martin|last4=McKernan|first4=Bethan|last5=Levine|first5=Sam|date=March 5, 2021|title=Kamala Harris breaks Senate tie to begin Covid relief package debate – as it happened|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/mar/04/voting-rights-police-reform-george-floyd-for-the-people-joe-biden-covid-coronavirus-live|access-date=March 5, 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On July 20, 2021, Harris broke [[Mike Pence]]'s record for tie-breaking votes in the first year of a vice presidency<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cohn |first1=Alicia |title=Pence became ultimate tie-breaker in 2017 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/366811-pence-became-ultimate-tie-breaker-in-2017 |work=The Hill |date=2017-12-31|access-date=October 25, 2021}}</ref> when she cast the seventh tie-breaking vote in her first six months<ref name="senate-since-1980">{{cite web |title=Votes to Break Ties in the Senate |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/TieVotes.htm |website=senate.gov |access-date=October 25, 2021}}</ref> and cast 13 tie-breaking votes during her first year in office, the most tie-breaking votes in a single year in U.S. history, surpassing [[John Adams]] who cast 12 votes in 1790.<ref name="senate-since-1980"/><ref name="senate">{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/VPTies.pdf|title=Senate.gov: VPTies.pdf|access-date=February 5, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502114129/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/VPTies.pdf|archive-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> As of March 2023, Harris is tied with John Adams for the second most tie-breaking votes by a vice president with 29, trailing only [[John C. Calhoun]] who cast 31 votes as vice president.<ref>{{cite web |title=Votes to Break Ties in the Senate |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/TieVotes.htm#:~:text=%22The%20Vice%20President%20of%20the,breaking%20votes%20have%20been%20cast. |website=senate.gov |access-date=5 March 2023}}</ref>
 
In a debunked story by the ''[[New York Post]]'' in April 2021, it was claimed that Harris's children's book ''Superheroes Are Everywhere'' was being distributed en masse through "welcome kits" given to migrant children at a shelter in Long Beach, California.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dale |first1=Daniel |date=April 28, 2021 |title=New York Post temporarily deletes, then edits false story that claimed Harris' book was given out in migrant 'welcome kits' |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/27/politics/new-york-post-fact-check-kamala-harris-book-migrants/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=April 30, 2021}}</ref> In reality, only a single copy of the book had been donated by a member of the public. The writer of the original story, Laura Italiano, claimed that she was forced to write the story against her will and she resigned from the ''New York Post'' as a result.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Waterson |first1=Jim |date=April 28, 2021 |title=New York Post reporter quits citing pressure to write incorrect story about Kamala Harris |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/28/new-york-post-reporter-quits-over-incorrect-story-about-kamala-harris-book |work=The Guardian |access-date=April 30, 2021}}</ref>
<!--Possible source for expansion: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/kamala-harris-vice-president-impossible/618890/-->
 
In April 2021, Harris indicated that she was the last person in the room before President Biden decided to remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and commented that the president has "an extraordinary amount of courage" and "make(s) decisions based on what he truly believes ... is the right thing to do."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/25/harris-afghanistan-biden-withdrawal-decision-484581| first=Allie |last=Bice |title=Harris says she had key role in Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal decision |publisher=[[Politico]] |date=April 25, 2021| accessdate=August 20, 2021}}</ref> National Security Advisor [[Jake Sullivan]] said that Biden "insists she be in every core decision-making meeting. She weighs in during those meetings, often providing unique perspectives."<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Rothkopf|first=David|date=December 17, 2021|title=Kamala's Conundrum: She's Doing a Great Job But Her Story's Not Getting Out|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-conundrum-shes-doing-a-great-job-but-her-storys-not-getting-out|access-date=January 2, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:V20210715LJ-0115 (51417873331).jpg|thumb|Harris and German Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]], July 2021]]


Harris cast her first of two tie-breaking votes on February 5, 2021. In February and March, Harris' tie-breaking votes in her role as President of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] were needed to pass the [[American Rescue Plan Act of 2021]] stimulus package proposed by President Biden because no Republicans in the Senate voted for the package.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-relief-package-senate-passes-budget-plan/|title=Senate passes $1.9 trillion COVID relief resolution after all-night 'vote-a-rama'|website=CBS News|first=Grace|last=Segers|date=February 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Maanvi|last2=Greve|first2=Joan E.|last3=Belam|first3=Martin|last4=McKernan|first4=Bethan|last5=Levine|first5=Sam|date=March 5, 2021|title=Kamala Harris breaks Senate tie to begin Covid relief package debate – as it happened|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/mar/04/voting-rights-police-reform-george-floyd-for-the-people-joe-biden-covid-coronavirus-live|access-date=March 5, 2021|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
On March 24, 2021, Biden tasked Harris to reduce the number of [[unaccompanied minor]]s and adult asylum seekers. She is also tasked with leading the negotiations with [[Mexico]], [[Honduras]], [[Guatemala]] and [[El Salvador]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lahut|first=Jake|date=2021-03-25|title=Biden is giving Kamala Harris the thorniest issue to oversee as VP: immigration|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/biden-is-giving-kamala-harris-the-thorniest-issue-to-oversee-as-vp-immigration/articleshow/81676987.cms|access-date=March 27, 2021|work=Business Insider}}</ref> Harris conducted her first international trip as vice president in June 2021, visiting Guatemala and Mexico in an attempt to address the root causes of an [[Mexico–United States border crisis#Biden administration|increase in migration from Central America to the United States]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Egan |first1=Lauren |title=Harris takes first steps onto world stage, into migration spotlight |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/harris-takes-her-first-steps-world-stage-migration-policy-spotlight-n1269789 |work=NBC News |date=June 7, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> During her visit, in a joint press conference with Guatemalan President [[Alejandro Giammattei]], Harris issued an appeal to potential migrants, stating "I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Sabrina |title=Harris' blunt message in Guatemala: 'Do not come' to U.S. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/07/harris-message-in-guatemala-do-not-come-492047 |work=POLITICO |date=June 7, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> Her work in Central America led to creation of task forces on corruption and human trafficking; a women's empowerment program, and an investment fund for housing and businesses.<ref name=":2"/>


In April 2021, Harris said that she was the last person in the room before President Biden decided to remove all U.S. troops from [[Afghanistan]] and commented  that the president was brave for making this "difficult decision".<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/25/harris-afghanistan-biden-withdrawal-decision-484581| author=Allie Bice |title=Harris says she had key role in Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal decision |publisher=[[Politico]] |date=April 25, 2021| accessdate=August 20, 2021}}</ref>
Harris met with French President [[Emmanuel Macron]] in November 2021 to strengthen ties after the cancellation of a [[Attack-class submarine|submarine program]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rogers|first=Katie|date=November 10, 2021|title=Harris Meets Macron, Signaling a 'New Era' After Sub Snub, Both Say|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/world/europe/france-kamala-harris-macron.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110225005/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/10/world/europe/france-kamala-harris-macron.html |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=January 2, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


Biden put Harris in charge of [[immigration]]. Harris visited [[Guatemala]] and [[Mexico]] to see why there was an increase in immigration, mainly from [[Central America]] to the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Egan |first1=Lauren |title=Harris takes first steps onto world stage, into migration spotlight |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/harris-takes-her-first-steps-world-stage-migration-policy-spotlight-n1269789 |work=NBC News |date=7 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> During her visit, she said "I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come. Do not come".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Sabrina |title=Harris' blunt message in Guatemala: 'Do not come' to U.S. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/07/harris-message-in-guatemala-do-not-come-492047 |work=POLITICO |date=7 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Nearing ten months in office, approval ratings for the president and the vice president were 38% and 28%, respectively.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Tracy|first1=Abigail|date=November 18, 2021|title=Top Kamala Harris aide heads for the exit|magazine=Vanity Fair|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/11/ashley-etienne-kamala-harris-white-house|accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> At 28%, Harris had the lowest approval rating of any modern VP; the prior record having been [[Dick Cheney|Dick Cheney's]] 30% at the end of his second term.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fossett |first=Katelyn |title=What's going on with Kamala's poll numbers? |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/women-rule/2021/11/12/whats-going-on-with-kamalas-poll-numbers-495086 |access-date=2023-01-31 |work=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=SFGATE |first=Eric Ting |date=2021-11-08 |title=Kamala Harris has a comically bad approval rating, poll finds |url=https://www.sfgate.com/national-politics/article/Kamala-Harris-approval-rating-poll-history-Biden-16602512.php |access-date=2023-01-31 |work=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref>


On November 19, 2021, Harris served as [[Acting president of the United States|acting president]] from 10:10 am to 11:35 am while President Biden underwent a "routine [[colonoscopy]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Zeke |date=19 November 2021|title=Biden to have routine colonoscopy, transfer power to Harris|url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-70d7e5903ea41636ee6bbe829fa082a2|work=Associated Press News|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|location=[[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]]|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> Harris became the third vice president as well as the first female vice president to serve as acting president.<ref>{{cite news |last=Feinberg|first=Andrew|date=19 November 2021|title=‘First woman president’: Kamala Harris makes history when she briefly assumes powers of presidency during Biden procedure|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-president-kamala-harris-b1960913.html|work=[[The Independent]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-19|title=Kamala Harris takes on presidential role – briefly – as Biden has colonoscopy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/19/kamala-harris-presidential-powers-biden-colonoscopy |last=Pengelly |first=Martin |website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
On November 19, 2021, Harris served as [[Acting president of the United States|acting president]] from 10:10 to 11:35 am EST, while President Biden underwent a [[colonoscopy]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Zeke|date=November 19, 2021|title=Biden to have routine colonoscopy, transfer power to Harris|url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-70d7e5903ea41636ee6bbe829fa082a2|work=Associated Press News|location=[[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]]|access-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref> She became the first woman, and the third person overall, to assume the powers and duties of the U.S. presidency under Section 3 of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Feinberg|first=Andrew|date=November 19, 2021|title='First woman president': Kamala Harris makes history when she briefly assumes powers of presidency during Biden procedure|work=[[The Independent]]|location=Washington, DC|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-president-kamala-harris-b1960913.html|access-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Pengelly|first=Martin|date=November 19, 2021|title=Kamala Harris takes on presidential role – briefly – as Biden has colonoscopy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/19/kamala-harris-presidential-powers-biden-colonoscopy|work=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
 
Harris's term in office has seen high staff turnovers that included her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, press secretary, deputy press secretary, communications director, and chief speechwriter. An anonymous source said that they resigned because they and other staffers "often feel mistreated" by senior staffers.<ref name=PoliticoDissent/> "[[Symone Sanders]], senior advisor and chief spokesperson for Harris, pushed back against the complaints" and defended their management style, especially for giving opportunities to Black women.<ref name=PoliticoDissent>{{cite news |last1=Cadelago |first1=Christopher |last2=Lippman |first2=Daniel |last3=Daniels |first3=Eugene |date=December 4, 2021 |title='Not a healthy environment': Kamala Harris' office rife with dissent |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/kamala-harris-office-dissent-497290 |url-status=live |work=Politico |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624123821/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/kamala-harris-office-dissent-497290 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |access-date=June 27, 2022 |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tomlinson |first1=Hugh |date=March 17, 2022 |title=Fresh woe for Kamala Harris as another adviser quits |language=en-GB |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fresh-woe-for-kamala-harris-as-another-adviser-quits-zssczgzlt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wootson Jr. |first1=Cleve |last2=Pager |first2=Tyler |date=December 4, 2021 |title=A Kamala Harris staff exodus reignites questions about her leadership style — and her future ambitions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/04/kamala-harris-staff-departures/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612061312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/04/kamala-harris-staff-departures/ |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |access-date=June 27, 2022 |quote= }}</ref>
 
== Awards and honors ==
[[File:Kamala Harris Howard University commencement ceremony C tljSIWsAEXQn3.jpg|thumb|Harris at [[Howard University]] in 2017]]
In 2005, the National Black Prosecutors Association awarded Harris the [[Thurgood Marshall#Thurgood Marshall Award|Thurgood Marshall Award]]. That year, she was included in a ''[[Newsweek]]'' report profiling "20 of America's Most Powerful Women".<ref name="In Their Shoes">{{cite book|url=https://catalog.simonandschuster.com/Default.aspx?cid=1378&find=In%20Their%20Shoes|title=In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster|Simon Pulse]]|last=Reber|first=Deborah|year=2015|location=New York City|page=37|isbn=978-1-4814-2812-5|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023194733/https://catalog.simonandschuster.com/Default.aspx?cid=1378&find=In%20Their%20Shoes|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2008 [[The New York Times|''New York Times'']] article published later that year also identified her as a woman with potential to become president of the United States, highlighting her reputation as a "tough fighter".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zernike|first1=Kate|title=She Just Might Be President Someday|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18zernike.html|access-date=November 16, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=May 18, 2008|archive-date=April 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406175652/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18zernike.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
In 2013, 2020, and 2021, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included Harris on the [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]], [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']]'s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kamala Harris Jurist to watch, 48|url=https://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/kamala-harris/|last=Pelosi|first=Nancy|access-date=April 18, 2013|newspaper=Time|date=April 18, 2013|archive-date=April 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420062207/http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/kamala-harris/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Souza |first1=Shaad |title=Megan Thee Stallion, The Weeknd, Halsey make TIME 100 list |url=https://www.thefader.com/2020/09/23/megan-thee-stallion-the-weeknd-halsey-make-time-100-list |website=[[The Fader]] |access-date=December 5, 2021 |language=en |date=September 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Parsley |first1=Aaron |title=Bernie Sanders and Cindy McCain Write Tributes for Biden and Other Leaders on TIME 100 List |url=https://people.com/politics/joe-biden-praise-bernie-sanders-time-100/ |website=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=December 5, 2021 |language=en |date=September 15, 2021}}</ref> In 2016, the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center awarded Harris the Bipartisan Justice Award along with Senator [[Tim Scott]].<ref>{{cite web|title=20/20 Award Winners|url=https://2020club.org/award-winners/|website=2020 Club|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008201423/https://2020club.org/award-winners/|url-status=live}}</ref> Biden and Harris were jointly named [[Time Person of the Year|''Time'' Person of the Year]] for 2020.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year|url=https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris/|access-date=December 11, 2020|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref>
 
Harris was selected for the inaugural 2021 [[Forbes]] 50 Over 50; made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who are over the age of 50.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gross |first1=Elana Lyn |last2=Voytko |first2=Lisette |last3=McGrath |first3=Maggie |url=https://www.forbes.com/50over50/ |title=The New Golden Age |work=[[Forbes]] |date=June 2, 2021 |accessdate=June 2, 2021 }}</ref>
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Honorary degrees
!scope="col"| Location
!scope="col"| Date
!scope="col"| School
!scope="col"| Degree
!scope="col"| Gave commencement address
|-
| {{Flagu|California}}
|May 15, 2015
| [[University of Southern California]]
| [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D.)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://commencement.usc.edu/history/2000-to-present/|title=Speakers, Honorary Degree Recipients: 2000 to present &#124; USC|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=September 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921021201/https://commencement.usc.edu/history/2000-to-present/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://honorarydegrees.usc.edu/past-recipients/|title=Past Recipients · Honorary Degrees|website=honorarydegrees.usc.edu|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005015605/https://honorarydegrees.usc.edu/past-recipients/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|No
|-
| {{Flagu|District of Columbia}}
|May 13, 2017
| [[Howard University]]
| [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] (DHL)<ref>{{cite news|first1=Autumn|last1=Dalton|title=Howard University Commencement Honors Groundbreaking Women|url=https://www.washingtoninformer.com/howard-university-commencement-honors-groundbreaking-women/|access-date=May 26, 2020|newspaper=Howard University News Service|date=May 3, 2017|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707033355/https://www.washingtoninformer.com/howard-university-commencement-honors-groundbreaking-women/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.howard.edu/secretary/convocations/recipients-year.htm|title=Recipients of Honorary Degrees (By Year) – Office of the Secretary|publisher=Howard University|access-date=August 12, 2020|archive-date=April 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427095511/https://www.howard.edu/secretary/convocations/recipients-year.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
| Yes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.howard.edu/newsroom/static/7366/senator-kamala-harris-challenges-howard-university-graduates-forge-way-forward|title=Senator Kamala Harris Challenges Howard University Graduates to Forge a Way Forward|date=May 13, 2017|website=Howard Newsroom|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005045230/https://newsroom.howard.edu/newsroom/static/7366/senator-kamala-harris-challenges-howard-university-graduates-forge-way-forward|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|}


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
In 2014, Harris married lawyer [[Doug Emhoff]]. Emhoff and Harris have homes in [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Bose|first=Debanjali|date=October 12, 2020|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-real-estate-california-washington-home-photos-2020-8|title=Take a Look inside Kamala Harris's multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio, which includes property in California and Washington, DC|work=Business Insider|access-date=January 18, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Douglas Emhoff and Kamala Harris at VP Office on 2021 Valentine's Day.jpg|thumb|Vice presidential office portrait of Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman [[Doug Emhoff]], in 2021]]
Harris met her husband, attorney [[Doug Emhoff]], through a mutual friend who set up Harris and Emhoff on a blind date in 2013.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Jasmine|last2=Stracqualursi|first2=Veronica|date=January 15, 2021|title=Harris and Emhoff recall first date: 'It felt like we had known each other forever'|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/politics/kamala-harris-doug-emhoff-first-date-cnntv/index.html|access-date=January 18, 2021|website=CNN}}</ref> Emhoff was an entertainment lawyer who became partner-in-charge at [[Venable LLP]]'s Los Angeles office.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.venable.com/douglas-c-emhoff/|title=Douglas C. Emhoff|publisher=[[Venable LLP]]|access-date=May 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706110444/https://www.venable.com/douglas-c-emhoff/|archive-date=July 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Harris and Emhoff were married on August 22, 2014, in [[Santa Barbara, California]].<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Siders|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article2607685.html|title=Kamala Harris married in Santa Barbara ceremony|work=[[The Sacramento Bee]]|date=August 25, 2014|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817181737/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article2607685.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Harris is a stepmother to Emhoff's two children, Cole and [[Ella Emhoff|Ella]], from his previous marriage to the film producer [[Kerstin Emhoff]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a27422434/kamala-harris-stepmom-mothers-day/|title=Sen. Kamala Harris on Being 'Momala'|last=Harris|first=Kamala|date=May 10, 2019|website=ELLE|access-date=May 11, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812185005/https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a27422434/kamala-harris-stepmom-mothers-day/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of August 2019, Harris and her husband had an estimated net worth of $5.8{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="forbes">{{cite news|title=The Net Worth Of Every 2020 Presidential Candidate|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2019/08/14/heres-the-net-worth-of-every-2020-presidential-candidate/|access-date=August 24, 2019|work=Forbes|date=August 14, 2019|archive-date=August 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823194359/https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2019/08/14/heres-the-net-worth-of-every-2020-presidential-candidate/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Harris is a [[multiracial American]]<ref name=":22"/> and a [[Baptist]], holding membership of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, a [[Church (congregation)|congregation]] of the [[American Baptist Churches USA]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kamala Harris talks about her own faith and how it might influence a Biden-Harris White House|url=https://religionnews.com/2020/10/28/kamala-harris-talks-about-her-own-faith-and-how-it-might-influence-a-biden-harris-white-house/|access-date=November 9, 2020|last= Mwaura |first=Maina |website=Religion News Service|date= October 28, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Harris brings Baptist, interfaith roots to Democratic ticket|access-date=August 13, 2020|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/harris-brings-baptist-interfaith-roots-to-democratic-ticket/2020/08/12/2d319e6a-dc57-11ea-b4f1-25b762cdbbf4_story.html|last=Schor|first=Elana |newspaper=Washington post|date=August 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=5 faith facts about Biden's veep pick, Kamala Harris – a Baptist with Hindu family|url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/08/12/faith-facts-about-bidens/|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812175945/https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/08/12/faith-facts-about-bidens/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Find A Church|url=https://www.abc-usa.org/find-a-church/|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=ABCUSA|language=en-US|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806062430/http://www.abc-usa.org/find-a-church/|url-status=live}}</ref> She is a member of [[The Links]].<ref name=":03">{{cite news|date=August 22, 2020|title=America's black upper class and Black Lives Matter|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/22/americas-black-upper-class-and-black-lives-matter|access-date=July 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite web|last=Pitts|first=Myron B.|title=Myron B. Pitts: Sen. Kamala Harris, VP-elect, shines light on The Links|url=https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/columns/2020/11/14/myron-b-pitts-sen-kamala-harris-vp-elect-shines-light-links/6180696002/|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=[[The Fayetteville Observer]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
Harris's sister, [[Maya Harris|Maya]], is a lawyer and [[MSNBC]] political analyst; her brother-in-law, [[Tony West (attorney)|Tony West]], is [[general counsel]] of [[Uber]] and a former [[United States Department of Justice]] senior official.<ref name=":6">{{cite news|last=Shaban|first=Hamza|title=Uber hires PepsiCo's Tony West as general counsel|archive-date= October 28, 2017 |url-status=live|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/10/27/uber-hires-pepsicos-tony-west-as-general-counsel/|newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028010101/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the%2Dswitch/wp/2017/10/27/uber%2Dhires%2Dpepsicos%2Dtony%2Dwest%2Das%2Dgeneral%2Dcounsel/|date=October 27, 2017}}</ref> Her niece, [[Meena Harris|Meena]], is the founder of the Phenomenal Women Action Campaign and former head of strategy and leadership at Uber.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/style/phenomenal-woman-founder-meena-harris-interview/|title=Meet Meena Harris, the Designer and Activist Behind the Viral 'Phenomenally Black' T-Shirt|last=Kratofil|first=Colleen|date=June 17, 2020|website=PEOPLE.com|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106153551/https://people.com/style/phenomenal-woman-founder-meena-harris-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Awards and honors==
== Publications ==
In 2020, both Harris and Biden were named [[Time Person of the Year]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alter |first1=Charlotte |title=2020 Person of the Year - Joe Biden and Kamala Harris |url=https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris |access-date=December 11, 2020 |work=Time |date=December 11, 2020}}</ref>
Harris has written two non-fiction books and one children's book.
* {{Cite book|last1=Harris |first1=Kamala |last2=O'C Hamilton |first2=Joan |year=2009 |title=[[Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer]] |location=San Francisco, CA |publisher=[[Chronicle Books]] |isbn=978-0-8118-6528-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Harris |first=Kamala |year=2019 |title=[[Superheroes Are Everywhere]] |location=London|publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin Young Readers Group]] |isbn=978-1-984837-49-3}}
* {{Cite book|last=Harris |first=Kamala |year=2019 |title=[[The Truths We Hold|The Truths We Hold: An American Journey]] |location=London |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-984886-22-4}}


== Related pages ==
== See also ==
* [[Vice President of the United States]]
{{Portal|Biography|California|United States|Politics|Law}}
* [[Black women in American politics]]
* [[List of African-American United States Cabinet members]]
* [[List of African-American United States senators]]
* [[List of female state attorneys general in the United States]]
* [[List of female United States Cabinet members]]
* [[List of female United States presidential and vice presidential candidates]]
* [[List of politicians of Indian descent#United States|List of United States politicians of Indian descent]]
* [[List of United States senators from California]]
* [[Women in the United States Senate]]


==Notes==
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=nb}}


==References==
== References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Cbc2020-11-07>
{{cite news
| url        = https://cbc.ca/player/play/1816926275902
| title      = Kamala Harris's friend reacts to her historic win
| work        = [[CBC News]]
| date        = November 7, 2020
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20201107212814/https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1816926275902
| archive-date = November 7, 2020
| access-date  = November 7, 2020
| url-status  = live
| quote      = Wanda Kagan has known vice president-elect Kamala Harris for nearly 40 years. Kagan says that in their most recent conversation, Harris credited her for inspiring her career path.
}}
<!--
Wanda Kagan's account of telling Kamala - her best friend - that she was being abused by her step-father, at 1:15 into the video.
She goes on to describe how Kamala then told her mom, and that her mom then generously invited Kagan to move into their household,
to finish her final year of high school. She described Kamala's sister, Maya, also being very gracious in welcoming her, and that
Kamala's mom provided significant help for her to achieve independence from her family.
The clip doesn't say, but my google searches show, Kagan is now a senior Hospital administrator at the Hospital where Kamala's mom worked. -->
</ref>
}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.kamalaharris.org/ Official website]
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|b=no|d=no|n=Category:Kamala_Harris|s=Author:Kamala_Devi_Harris|v=no}}
{{Library resources box|about=yes|by=no}}


{{USVicePresidents}}
=== Official ===
*{{Official website|https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/}}
{{CongLinks | congbio = H001075 | fec = S6CA00584 | congress = kamala-harris/H001075 }}
 
=== Other ===
* {{C-SPAN}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://www.ontheissues.org/Kamala_Harris.htm Kamala Harris] at [[On the Issues]]
* [https://www.politifact.com/personalities/kamala-harris/ Kamala Harris] at [[PolitiFact]]
*{{Ballotpedia|Kamala_Harris}}
{{CongLinks|votesmart = 120012}}
 
{{Kamala Harris}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Kamala}}
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[[Category:Kamala Harris| ]]
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