Vice President Harris breaks practically 200-year-old report for Senate tiebreaker votes, casts her thirty second
Vice President Kamala Harris broke an almost 200-year-old report for casting probably the most tiebreaking votes within the Senate when she voted Tuesday to advance the affirmation of a brand new federal decide in Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, known as Harris’ thirty second tiebreaking vote a “great milestone.”
Harris returned to Capitol Hill later within the day to forged her thirty third vote as nicely, securing the decide’s affirmation.
The earlier recordholder was John C. Calhoun, who forged 31 tiebreaking votes throughout his eight years as vice chairman, from 1825 to 1832. Harris, a Democrat, tied Calhoun’s report in July.
Schumer offered Harris with a golden gavel after Tuesday’s vote. Harris, who beamed as she made historical past from the Senate dais, mentioned afterward she was “truly honored.”
Casting tiebreaker votes is among the many solely constitutional duties for vice presidents, and Harris has been repeatedly known as on to interrupt deadlocks as a result of the Senate is intently divided between Democrats and Republicans.
The tempo of Harris’ votes dropped off this 12 months, when Democrats expanded their slim majority within the Senate by a single seat. But she nonetheless managed to surpass Calhoun’s report in lower than half the time that he took to set it.
Harris has helped advance the American Rescue Plan, which was a $1.9 trillion pandemic aid measure, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which restricted the prices of prescribed drugs and created monetary incentives for clear power.
Most of Harris’ votes have concerned President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. On Tuesday, she boosted Loren AliKhan’s nomination to be a U.S. District Court decide. AliKhan was confirmed hours later.
Schumer credited Harris with serving to to substantiate extra ladies and other people of shade to the bench to assist make the judiciary “look more like America.”
