Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of colour to serve as the vice president of the United States, has once again proved her mettle! Harris has matched a 191-year-old record in the history of the US for casting tie-breaking votes as vice president of the US.
Harris made history yet again on July 12 when she matched the record held by Senator John C Calhoun, a Democratic-Republican who served as vice president to John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson from 1825 to 1832, reported PTI.
Harris, on July 12, voted on cloture for the nomination of Kotagal, a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert, to serve as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The PTI report said that Harris broke a 50-50 tie on a vote in the Senate on the nomination of Kotagal, to bring her total of tie-breaking votes cast as vice president since she assumed office to 31. This matched the record set by Calhoun.
For those unaware, Kotagal is the daughter of immigrants from India and is a partner at Cohen Milstein, a member of the firm’s Civil Rights and Employment practice group. She is also the co-chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee, and the co-author of the seminal legal template ‘Inclusion Rider’.
The PTI report said that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed Harris’s accomplishment on the floor and said, “When it’s mattered most, Vice President Harris has provided the decisive vote on some of the most historic bills of modern times, from the American Rescue Plan to the Inflation Reduction Act to so many federal judges who now preside and provide balance on the federal bench.” He further added, “She’s carried out her duties with supreme excellence.”