But Harris, who drew national attention as an outspoken participant in the House proceedings, is not planning to ask questions during Friday’s virtual hearing.
The former prime minister of California will instead submit a “long list of questions” to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an aide told CNN.
“Harris’ decision not to speak orally at the hearing appears to be a sign of her new role as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, a position often seen as one of the most important to” do no harm ”at the top of the ticket. It could also be an indicator of how the Biden camp plans to deploy Harris in the homestretch of a campaign where Biden’s team worked to create a referendum on President Donald Trump.
The testimony is also scheduled this morning after Harris’ running mate gave the largest speech of his career to date, a time historically reserved for cable networks to reflect on the nominee’s speech – and not testimony given by the vice- presidents nominated involved.
Harris is one of six Democrats in the House Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, where DeJoy testifies for the first time amid a riot over cuts in the USPS service that Democrats are warning of the possibility of post-a-vote to be delivered on time.
Harris made a name for herself in the House of Representatives as a hardline interlocutor at hearings, pushing everyone from Attorney General William Barr to then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. When Trump last week attacked Harris as “extremely annoying,” he referred to her exchange with Kavanaugh.
In her acceptance speech Wednesday, Harris chose to concentrate in great detail on her personal upbringing and the symbolism of the moment. She reintroduced America to who she is, where she came from, how that shaped her worldview and the vision she and Biden offer when they are elected.
She slammed Trump over his handling of the pandemic and the creation of racial divisions, declaring at one point “there is no vaccine for racism.” But the number of attacks declined compared to both the Democrats who spoke for them and their history of attacks on the president during their primary campaign. The speech served to emphasize her role as a history-maker and pioneer and to muffle her role as a striker.
“You want people to continue to see themselves in the environment in which they are accustomed. But they also want them to not just be seen as the senator of California and instead the vice president of the United States,” a source said. acquaintance with Harris told CNN.
Harris plays a ‘visible’ role
Details of Harris’s schedule for the week of the Republican National Convention are yet to be finalized, but the aide added, “you can expect them to be visible to program the RNC against.”
Since Harris’ selection last week, the California senator has conducted a majority of her interviews with Black Women reporters in stores that target women as well as people of color audiences such as Essence, The 19th and TheGrio.
The aide says post-DNC convention, Harris will appear before a “variety of key audiences,” including martial arts states, suburban women and other key constituencies for the party.
Friday’s Senate hearing is completely virtual, in what will be DeJoy’s first congressional appearance since he was appointed postmaster general in June amid a riot over postal service reductions The hearing provides the planned testimony of DeJoy on Monday before the Democratic-led House oversight committee. First Chamber Speaker Ron Johnson said in a statement earlier this week that the hearing was an opportunity for DeJoy to explain the Postal Service’s fiscal issues before he left before a hostile House committee decided to hold a trial. . “
Harris known for her tough questioning
During their presidency last year, supporters asked how they first heard of Harris who frequently quoted her grievances from Kavanaugh, Barr and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the House of Representatives.
“I saw Barr’s confirmation, Kavanaugh’s confirmation. You can tell she’s a prosecutor. She’s methodical. If you sit back and just listen, really listen, you can tell she’s two steps ahead of her in her question, “Patrick Mirocha, a plant operator at a waste processing plant, said in an interview with CNN in August 2019.
Harris participated in multiple high-profile hearings as a member of both the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, from former FBI Director James Comey’s 2017 testimony at the Kavanaugh hearings. Her sharp questioning was repeatedly interrupted by her Republican male colleagues during Intelligence Committee hearings in June 2017.
During the Kavanaugh hearings, Harris tangled several times with the Supreme Court nominee.
“Can you think of laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Harris asked Kavanaugh.
“I’m happy to answer a more specific question,” he replied.
“Male versus female,” Harris stressed, “that the government has the power to make a decision about a man’s body?”
“I do not think of one now, Senator,” Kavanaugh said at last.
Harris’ talents as a prosecutor were at times also fully reflected in her primary campaign. She often attacked Trump as a predator, saying he had a long and extensive “rap page,” and how she was someone who could pursue the case against him.
But her most famous attack during the primary was used against Biden, now her running mate, over the issue of buses to desegregating schools.
“I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you as you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,” Harris said on stage against Biden in a Democratic debate in June 2019. She took then commissioned him to comment on his work with segregationists and positions in the past on busing.
Critics of her possible choice to be Biden’s vice president used the attack against her during his quest, along with her ambition, to compromise her credibility – a claim her supporters called sexist.
CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.
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