Kamala Harris' treatment of staff under scrutiny as reports of poor office culture resurface

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is raising concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’ documented struggles with retaining staff, telling Fox News that "nobody lasts very long" while working for her and that "how she treats people around her is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future." 

McCarthy made the comments during an appearance on "Life, Liberty & Levin" this week, when he said, "Nobody lasts very long. Even as VP, when she didn’t do anything, she could not keep staff. That is a person that the press will never talk about... How she treats people around her is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future."

He said, "It is known in California, and it’s known in Washington. It is a heroic work environment if you work for her."

McCarthy also said, "When she got elected to the U.S. Senate, I was the Majority Leader. I reached out to meet with her. Not once would she meet with me. If I talked to the Democrats inside the California delegation, they didn’t care for her because she would not meet." 

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Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is raising concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris's ability to retain staff. (Reuters/David Swanson | AP/Stephanie Scarbrough/Pool)

The former California House Republican’s remarks come after OpenTheBooks.com, which describes itself as a "government watchdog organization," reported last week that Harris is experiencing a 91.5% staff turnover rate within the Office of the Vice President. 

The organization, citing payroll records, says as of March 31, 2024, only four of the initial 47 staffers employed during Harris’ first year as vice president in 2021 are still working for her without interruption. 

In the year leading up to that date, 24 of her staffers quit, it added. Harris reportedly has 50 staff working for her right now. 

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The website OpenTheBooks.com reports that Vice President Kamala Harris has had a higher staff turnover rate compared to President Biden and former President Trump. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images; Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Overall, Harris’ staff turnover rate of nearly 92% surpasses President Biden’s rate of 77% and former President Trump’s rate of 72% during the first to fourth years of their terms, according to OpenTheBooks.com. 

Since 2021, 127 of Biden’s initial 560 White House staff are still with him, it also said. 

"It’s always been a problem," one former Harris aide was quoted telling The Hill in 2022. "You have to have your people around you." 

"Politics is about relationships and the relationships with the people around you," added another former staffer. "I think there’s a lot of improvement needed there." 

Years earlier, the father of a former intern for then-California Attorney General Harris wrote an op-ed for The Union newspaper in which he said his son, Gregory, had an "eye-opening experience" working for her that "none of us expected."

"Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day," Terry McAteer wrote.

"As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, ‘Good Morning General,’" he added, mentioning how "Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members."

Vice President Kamala Harris has been endorsed by President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.