VP Harris Spends Up To $6M on Staff

While the Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to give the public access to records, the Office of the Vice President says it’s not considered an agency so it’s not subject to FOIA. It refuses to provide requested figures on total spending or staff salaries.

Even without the cooperation of the OVP, OpentheBooks.com was able to see the spending from the U.S. Senate’s semi-annual report for Oct. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, which gives a partial list of staff names and pay.

While the 2021 salaries for VP Harris’s 28 staff listed in the Senate report added up to $2,334, 223.97, when estimated for the year, the president’s congressional budget submission shows the OVP got $5 million for 23 full time staff in 2021 and requested $6,039,000 for 27 full time staff in 2022.

We don’t know why the discrepancy exists because the OVP won’t answer our questions.

We do know that Harris named Tina Flournoy as her chief of staff in December 2020, a leader who been criticized for her rough management style that some say has led to dysfunction and frustration in Harris’ office.

Symone D. Sanders, Harris senior advisor/chief spokesperson, initially defended Flournoy but became one of many to leave her high-profile job there at the end of 2021.

Sanders left two weeks after communications director Ashley Etienne resigned, which renewed speculation of chaos and dysfunction within the vice-president’s office.

The Freedom of Information Act is a vital piece of our democracy, ensuring the governed can see what the government is doing with their money. Without it, politicians run free with taxpayer funds and with no one to answer to.

The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com