The vice president is accused of 'soul-destroying' by former staffers, with one of them claiming that she refused to read briefing materials and then blamed them if she appeared unprepared.

• Dec 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Kamala Harris isn't a nice boss to work with, according to her ex-aides. The vice president is described as a "bully" by her former staffers in a damaging piece by a liberal newspaper.

The Washington Post reports that after interviewing 18 people connected to the VP, her "destructive patterns" are reportedly to be blamed for the exit of several key members. Symone Sanders, Harris' senior adviser and chief spokesperson, confirmed she will leave the White House by the end of the this month.

Her departure comes after Ashley Etienne, Harris' former communications director, left last month. Peter Velz, director of press operations, and Vince Evans, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement, have reportedly told other in the vice president's office that they are also leaving.

Chief spokesperson Symone Sanders told the publication her departure is not due to any unhappiness or dysfunction, but rather because she is ready for a break after three years of the relentless pressure that came with speaking for and advising Joe Biden and Harris while navigating a global pandemic.

However, as "key members of Harris' orbit are leaving and even more are eyeing the exits," the questions about Harris' management are reignited. Gil Duran, who worked with Harris for just five months in 2013 before quitting, said the vice president was "repeating the same old destructive patterns."

"One of the things we've said in our little text groups among each other is what is the common denominator through all this and it's her," Duran said. "Who are the next talented people you're going to bring in and burn through and then have (them) pretend they're retiring for positive reasons."

One former staffer claimed the vice president refused to read briefing materials, then lashes out at others when she appeared unprepared. "It's clear that you're not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work," the staffer said. "With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you're constantly sort of propping up a bully, and it's not really clear why."

However, another former staffer begged to differ. Sean Clegg, who worked for Harris in 2008, when she was San Francisco's district attorney said that although Harris is a demanding boss, she is not unreasonable. "I've never had an experience in my long history with Kamala where I felt like she was unfair," he said.

"Has she called bulls**tty? Yes. And does that make people uncomfortable sometimes? Yes," Clegg added. "But if she were a man with her management style, she would have a TV show called 'The Apprentice'."

White House officials, meanwhile, played down the turnover despite the fact that Harris has been in office for less than a year. In my experience, and if you look at past precedent, it's natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "And that is applicable to many of these individuals. It's also an opportunity, as it is in any White House, to bring in new faces, new voices and new perspectives."