WASHINGTON (AP) — With Donald Trump’s return to the White House just days away, Kamala Harris’ aides flocked to her ceremonial office to watch her sign the desk, a tradition her predecessors maintained for decades. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, stood behind her to take a photo as she brandished her Sharpie marker.
“It’s not in my nature to go quietly into the night,” Harris said Thursday. “So don’t worry about it.”
But what’s next for them?
“I’ll keep you updated,” she said.
Harris made no plans after leaving office on Monday, aside from flying home to California. It is the first time she has not held elected office since 2004, when she became San Francisco’s district attorney.
There are rumors that she will write a book and there is speculation that she could run again for governor or perhaps even president. At 60, Harris is still adolescent in a political world where the last two presidents have set records as the oldest presidents ever elected.
Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic Party leader, recalled telling Harris she needed to take a break and “learn what it’s like to sleep for a while.” They both laughed and Brazile said, “Yeah, you’ll never be normal again.”
Brazile was campaign manager for Al Gore, the last sitting vice president to run for the top office.
“More people have called me to find out what’s next for Kamala Harris than have called me to find out what’s next for Al Gore,” she said.
Harris’s tenure was both ordinary and extraordinary. Like many of her predecessors, she spent her time tending to a portfolio of issues — including migration, abortion rights and maternal health — and representing the country abroad. At times she struggled to distinguish herself, a common challenge in a job that carries few constitutional responsibilities.
But Harris also made history as the first woman, Black or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. And last year, Harris found herself in an unprecedented situation when President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed her as his successor.
With only 107 days left in the election campaign, Harris was in the presidential race. She immediately reset the terms of the race against Trump, who is nearly two decades older than her, but failed to defeat him.
Many Democrats blamed Biden for running in the first place and putting Harris in an impossible position. Harris also faced her own criticism.
Some said she should have sent a more populist message instead of focusing on Trump’s anti-democratic threats by campaigning alongside Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman. She also failed to distance herself from Biden, who remains extremely unpopular with voters.
Minyon Moore, who chaired last year’s Democratic National Convention, downplayed the criticism, saying, “If, would, could, should.”
Because Harris faced such an unusual election campaign, Moore said, “there was no roadmap for what she should have done.”
Harris hasn’t answered questions about her loss, nor has she offered her own perspective on the election. Her public comments were narrow to mobilizing calls for students and others disappointed with Trump’s victory, especially after Democrats described him as an existential threat to the country.
“Nobody can walk away,” Harris said in a speech. “We have to stay in the fight.” Every one of us.”
Harris hoped to conclude her term with a world tour to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, a final opportunity to demonstrate her role in foreign policy. However, she decided to stay in Washington as wildfires spread in Los Angeles. Her own home in the Brentwood neighborhood was in an evacuation zone.
Harris did not travel to the area because she feared local resources would be diverted from fighting the fire, according to an official in her office who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her planning.
Despite canceling her trip abroad, Harris has expressed her interest in remaining vigorous on the world stage. In her final week in office, she spent time on the phone with foreign heads of state, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo.
On Wednesday, she was in the Oval Office to watch Biden give his farewell speech. He described her as “a great partner” and they hugged after the speech.
Biden chose Harris as his nominee after her first presidential campaign stalled four years ago. After taking office, her schedule was narrow by the coronavirus pandemic and her commitments on Capitol Hill. With the U.S. Senate evenly divided, she often had to cast tie-breaking votes and ultimately set a record by helping advance judicial nominees and groundbreaking legislation.
“She had to find her role,” said Joel Goldstein, a historian who has studied the vice presidency. “It took some time to figure that out.”
Moore recalled an Oval Office meeting with Harris and other senior advisers as Biden considered who to nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although it is unlikely that a liberal justice would have many opportunities to formulate majority opinions on a court dominated by conservatives, Moore said Harris focused on which candidate would utilize the platform to express dissenting opinions.
Harris wanted “someone who could think through the nuances of writing these disagreements,” Moore said. Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, fulfilling his promise to put a Black woman on the bench, and she often drew attention for her keen dissenting opinions.
One of Harris’ original missions, curbing migration from Central America, became a political liability. Republicans called her the “border czar” and blamed her for illegal border crossings. However, fewer migrants came from the countries where Harris focused her efforts.
She met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich shortly before the Russian invasion began three years ago and spent a week in Africa to lay the groundwork for renewed U.S. engagement.
Harris also traveled to Southeast Asia three times as the administration sought to recalibrate foreign policy to counter China’s influence.
“She felt we could pay even more attention to this sometimes overlooked part of the world,” said Phil Gordon, Harris’ national security adviser.
Abortion rights became a crucial issue for Harris after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade had picked up. Biden was more reserved on the issue and Harris began leading the White House effort.
Lorraine Voles, Harris’ chief of staff, said the court decision was “a turning point” for the vice president.
“It opened up a path for her that maybe didn’t exist before,” she said. “People didn’t focus on the issue of maternal and reproductive health until they started seeing it as threatened.”
Nadia Brown, a government professor at Georgetown University who focuses on black women and politics, said Harris will “certainly go down in the history books” for breaking down racial and gender barriers in politics.
She said Harris’ time as vice president helped broaden the views of “everyday Americans who may have misconceptions about what a leader could or should be.”
The only question that remains is what Harris decides to do now.
“It’s not over yet,” Brown said. “But I’m not sure what the next chapter will be.”
