Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris
Official portrait, 2021
49th Vice President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office January 20, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Mike Pence
United States Senator from California
In office January 3, 2017 – January 18, 2021
Preceded by	Barbara Boxer
Succeeded by	Alex Padilla
32nd Attorney General of California
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017
Governor	Jerry Brown
Preceded by	Jerry Brown
Succeeded by	Xavier Becerra
27th District Attorney of San Francisco
In office January 8, 2004 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Terence Hallinan
Succeeded by	George Gascón
Personal details
Born	Kamala Devi Harris[a] (1964-10-20) October 20, 1964 (age 60) Oakland, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Doug Emhoff ​ (m. 2014)​
Parents	Donald J. Harris Shyamala Gopalan
Relatives	Harris family
Residence	Number One Observatory Circle
Education	Howard University (BA) University of California, Hastings College of the Law (JD)
Signature
Website	Campaign website
Harris' voice Harris speaks on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Recorded July 26, 2021

This article is part of a series about Kamala Harris
Personal Early life Bibliography Smart on Crime Superheroes Are Everywhere The Truths We Hold Family Political positions Public image #KHive 27th District Attorney of San Francisco Elections 2003 2007 32nd Attorney General of California Tenure Elections 2010 2014 U.S. Senator from California 2016 election Legislation Justice for Victims of Lynching Act MORE Act Rent Relief Act 49th Vice President of the United States Incumbent Transition Biden administration inauguration Office of Gun Violence Prevention "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" Vice presidential campaigns 2020 election selection convention debate "We did it, Joe!" 2024 Presidential campaigns 2020 primaries endorsements 2024 election endorsements VP selection convention debates
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Kamala Devi Harris^[b] (born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who has been the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female U.S. vice president, making her the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history. She is also the first African American and the first Asian American vice president. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee in the 2024 presidential election, becoming the second woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. From 2017 to 2021, she represented California in the U.S. Senate, and was Attorney General of California from 2011 to 2017. From 2004 to 2011, she served as District Attorney of San Francisco.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She began her law career in the office of the district attorney of Alameda County. She was recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later to the office of the city attorney of San Francisco. She was elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2003 and attorney general of California in 2010, and reelected as attorney general in 2014. Harris was the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to hold each office.

Harris was the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. She won the 2016 Senate election, becoming the second Black woman and first South Asian American U.S. senator. As a senator, Harris advocated for stricter gun control laws, the DREAM Act, federal legalization of cannabis, and reforms to healthcare and taxation. She gained a national profile while asking pointed questions of officials within the first administration of President Donald Trump during Senate hearings, including Trump's second U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent Republican president and vice president, Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 presidential election. Presiding over an evenly split U.S. Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as President of the Senate. She cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her campaign with Biden's endorsement and became the offical nominee at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, picking Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. She would go on to lose the general election to Trump.

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