Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Laphonza Butler of California.
Carl Juste/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
California Sen. Laphonza Butler is defending Vice President Kamala Harris.
Butler says Harris’s detractors need to “cut the bullshit” and are being “disrespectful.”
Butler is a longtime political ally of Harris and worked on her 2020 presidential campaign.
It remains unclear how long Laphonza Butler will be serving in the Senate, but one thing is clear: She’s a staunch defender of Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an interview with the New York Times before being appointed as California’s new US senator, Butler said that detractors of Harris need to “cut the bullshit.”
“It’s disrespectful,” said Butler. “And the thing that makes it more disrespectful is that we’re talking about a historic VP who has been a high-quality partner and asset to the country at a time when everything is at stake. Right now is the time to respect what she’s done and what she brings.”
The former president of EMILY’s List, Butler is a longtime political ally of the vice president, dating back to when Harris first ran for Attorney General of California in 2010. Butler also served as a senior adviser on Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Butler was sworn in by Harris last week following the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In appointing Butler, Gov. Gavin Newsom followed through on his pledge to nominate a Black woman to the seat, and she is the only Black woman currently serving in the Senate. She is also the first LGBTQ woman of color to serve in the chamber.
While she is certain to serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which ends in January 2025, it remains unclear whether Butler will seek a full six-year term. Several candidates — including Rep. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee — have already spent months raising money and campaigning across the state.
Asked by a reporter last week if she would run, she repeatedly said: “I can share that I’ve had a great day.”
Harris has long been dogged by criticism of her tenure as vice president, and she’s argued that she’s faced more media scrutiny than prior vice presidents.
And as reporters have asked Democratic lawmakers in recent months whether Harris remains the best running mate for President Joe Biden, some have stopped short of saying so outright.
“[Biden] thinks so, and that’s what matters,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on CNN last month.
“That’s President Biden’s choice. And I think she’s an excellent running mate for President Biden,” Rep. Jamie Raskin later said on the same network.