Madam Vice President-elect Harris just keeps on making history! On December 3, it was announced that all of her top aides will be women. This means that for the first time ever, the three top positions in the office of the vice president will be held by women, as they serve the first Black woman to hold the position.
One of the most notable women tapped is Tina Flournoy, who will be the chief of staff to the VP. Flournoy was also the chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton. She is a founding member of the group the “Colored Girls,” composed of Black women in the Democratic Party who advocate for representation within the party.
The Biden-Harris campaign has made progressive strides in hiring a number of women of color to serve under their administration. Last week, Harris selected two Black women to lead her communications team. She also recently named a woman of color to serve as her domestic policy advisor.
Symone Sanders is now the chief spokeswoman for the vice president and Ashley Etienne is the new communications director.
Democrats are noting that Harris’ picks are more accurate representations of the United States. The former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile, said to the New York Times that when Harris reveals her team, “it will look like America.” She continued by saying, “usually that means there’s…one Black person or one woman,” but that is not the case with the VP. Of all the people she has named, five are women, and four of them are women of color.
According to transition officials, President-elect Biden gave Harris “free rein” to choose her staff. This is due to issues of being micromanaged in the past. That free rein has paid off for Harris and the young girls of color watching this history-making moment.