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| Senator, Un(Interrupted): Kamala Harris’s Rise Among Democrats | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — The casting call came early — the first of many unwelcome interruptions for Kamala Harris since November — consuming the Los Angeles nightclub where she was supposed to be celebrating an uncomplicated Senate victory. | WASHINGTON — The casting call came early — the first of many unwelcome interruptions for Kamala Harris since November — consuming the Los Angeles nightclub where she was supposed to be celebrating an uncomplicated Senate victory. |
| With the polls closed in nearly every other corner of the country, the giant TV above the dance floor left little doubt: Donald J. Trump was almost certainly going to be president. A vacancy — standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, or at least one of them — had come open four to eight years ahead of schedule. | With the polls closed in nearly every other corner of the country, the giant TV above the dance floor left little doubt: Donald J. Trump was almost certainly going to be president. A vacancy — standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, or at least one of them — had come open four to eight years ahead of schedule. |
| And people had questions. | And people had questions. |
| “Literally everyone was essentially turning to her and asking,” said Juan Rodriguez, Ms. Harris’s campaign manager, recalling the scene backstage on election night. “What does this mean? What do we do?” | “Literally everyone was essentially turning to her and asking,” said Juan Rodriguez, Ms. Harris’s campaign manager, recalling the scene backstage on election night. “What does this mean? What do we do?” |
| The sensation has perhaps grown familiar for Ms. Harris. | The sensation has perhaps grown familiar for Ms. Harris. |
| Less than eight months later, California’s very junior senator has emerged as the latest iteration of a bipartisan archetype: the Great Freshman Hope, a telegenic object of daydreaming projection — justified or not — for a party adrift and removed from executive power. | Less than eight months later, California’s very junior senator has emerged as the latest iteration of a bipartisan archetype: the Great Freshman Hope, a telegenic object of daydreaming projection — justified or not — for a party adrift and removed from executive power. |
| “Do we retreat or do we fight?” she thundered in Los Angeles that evening. “I say we fight.” | “Do we retreat or do we fight?” she thundered in Los Angeles that evening. “I say we fight.” |
| Like the Senate newcomers Barack Obama or Marco Rubio before her, Ms. Harris — a 52-year-old former prosecutor with a profane streak, a lawyerly aversion to “false choices” and an affection for the rapper Too Short — has insisted that national aspirations are far from her mind. | Like the Senate newcomers Barack Obama or Marco Rubio before her, Ms. Harris — a 52-year-old former prosecutor with a profane streak, a lawyerly aversion to “false choices” and an affection for the rapper Too Short — has insisted that national aspirations are far from her mind. |
| Like those men, she has not exactly ruled out the possibility, either. | Like those men, she has not exactly ruled out the possibility, either. |
| Unlike those men, she is not a man, a fact that has figured prominently in her introduction to mass audiences in a recurring (and highly rated) television series: Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing Into Possible Trump Ties to Russia. | Unlike those men, she is not a man, a fact that has figured prominently in her introduction to mass audiences in a recurring (and highly rated) television series: Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing Into Possible Trump Ties to Russia. |
| Twice recently, Ms. Harris’s pointed questions and interjections during long-winded witness testimony have prompted uncommon interruptions from Republican colleagues, John McCain of Arizona and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the committee chairman, urging her to let the officials answer. | Twice recently, Ms. Harris’s pointed questions and interjections during long-winded witness testimony have prompted uncommon interruptions from Republican colleagues, John McCain of Arizona and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the committee chairman, urging her to let the officials answer. |
| In the outsize fallout, her supporters have questioned whether a white male senator would have been confronted the same way. | In the outsize fallout, her supporters have questioned whether a white male senator would have been confronted the same way. |
| “There are times,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, “when men don’t like women who are smarter than them.” | “There are times,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, “when men don’t like women who are smarter than them.” |
| Yet this early exposure has obscured a more nuanced Washington debut for Ms. Harris, who seems determined to distinguish her voice from the Democratic pack while offering at least a measure of deference to Senate norms. | Yet this early exposure has obscured a more nuanced Washington debut for Ms. Harris, who seems determined to distinguish her voice from the Democratic pack while offering at least a measure of deference to Senate norms. |
| In one such nod to rookie humility, she declined to be interviewed for this article, in keeping with an apparent policy against participating in profiles with major publications at this point. | In one such nod to rookie humility, she declined to be interviewed for this article, in keeping with an apparent policy against participating in profiles with major publications at this point. |
| “Oh, God,” she said when approached recently by a New York Times reporter at a congressional softball game. (She smiled through brief pleasantries, clutching a pink pompom to cheer her colleagues, before hustling toward the lawmakers’ dugout.) | |
| At the same time, her advisers argue, Mr. Trump’s election has so scrambled the rhythms of the upper chamber that tenure has become a less valuable currency. | At the same time, her advisers argue, Mr. Trump’s election has so scrambled the rhythms of the upper chamber that tenure has become a less valuable currency. |
| “Seniority does not govern all,” said Sean Clegg, a top strategist for Ms. Harris in California. “In effect, all voices are equal.” | “Seniority does not govern all,” said Sean Clegg, a top strategist for Ms. Harris in California. “In effect, all voices are equal.” |
| This view is not universally shared in the Capitol. Or in her state. | This view is not universally shared in the Capitol. Or in her state. |
| “She just got here,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, when asked about Ms. Harris’s future as a national figure, extolling the virtues of Senate hierarchy and committee-chairing. | “She just got here,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, when asked about Ms. Harris’s future as a national figure, extolling the virtues of Senate hierarchy and committee-chairing. |
| The senior senator, now 84, did speak warmly of Ms. Harris, saying she was “on the way to becoming” a good friend. | The senior senator, now 84, did speak warmly of Ms. Harris, saying she was “on the way to becoming” a good friend. |
| “What she should do is concentrate on being a good, and possibly a great, United States senator,” Ms. Feinstein said. “The rest will either happen or not happen.” | “What she should do is concentrate on being a good, and possibly a great, United States senator,” Ms. Feinstein said. “The rest will either happen or not happen.” |
| Ms. Harris’s brushes with national attention predate her Senate election, with a notable cameo from President Obama in 2013. After an event then, he was compelled to apologize after telling a group of Democrats that, in addition to being “brilliant,” “dedicated” and “tough,” Ms. Harris “also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general in the country.” | Ms. Harris’s brushes with national attention predate her Senate election, with a notable cameo from President Obama in 2013. After an event then, he was compelled to apologize after telling a group of Democrats that, in addition to being “brilliant,” “dedicated” and “tough,” Ms. Harris “also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general in the country.” |
| The daughter of an Indian-born mother and a Jamaican father — raised in a black neighborhood of Berkeley and wheeled to civil rights marches in her stroller — Ms. Harris last lived in Washington as an undergraduate at Howard University, where she delivered this year’s commencement address. | The daughter of an Indian-born mother and a Jamaican father — raised in a black neighborhood of Berkeley and wheeled to civil rights marches in her stroller — Ms. Harris last lived in Washington as an undergraduate at Howard University, where she delivered this year’s commencement address. |
| “We are better than this,” she told the students, sizing up the current political moment. “And you know what I’m talking about.” | “We are better than this,” she told the students, sizing up the current political moment. “And you know what I’m talking about.” |
| Few Democrats have voted against more Trump administration nominees, enshrining Ms. Harris in a group known derisively by Republicans and some Democrats in the Capitol as “the 2020 caucus.” Ms. Harris’s team remains particularly pleased with two “no” votes that most Democrats declined to join, given the officials’ performances so far: Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and John F. Kelly, the Homeland Security secretary. | Few Democrats have voted against more Trump administration nominees, enshrining Ms. Harris in a group known derisively by Republicans and some Democrats in the Capitol as “the 2020 caucus.” Ms. Harris’s team remains particularly pleased with two “no” votes that most Democrats declined to join, given the officials’ performances so far: Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and John F. Kelly, the Homeland Security secretary. |
| But rampaging populist rhetoric seems to come a bit less naturally to Ms. Harris, at least compared to Senate colleagues like Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Bernie Sanders of Vermont. | But rampaging populist rhetoric seems to come a bit less naturally to Ms. Harris, at least compared to Senate colleagues like Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Bernie Sanders of Vermont. |
| Ms. Harris, who served as state attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, tends instead toward a courtroom bluntness. | Ms. Harris, who served as state attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, tends instead toward a courtroom bluntness. |
| “She speaks, she’s heard,” Gov. Jerry Brown of California said in an interview. “She gets to the point.” | “She speaks, she’s heard,” Gov. Jerry Brown of California said in an interview. “She gets to the point.” |
| Ms. Harris has taken particular care to make a foil of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in person or otherwise, and is eager to seize on immigration and criminal justice issues as her signatures. | Ms. Harris has taken particular care to make a foil of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in person or otherwise, and is eager to seize on immigration and criminal justice issues as her signatures. |
| “I do want you to be honest,” she said to Mr. Sessions at one Intelligence Committee hearing, almost tauntingly, as he protested the velocity of her questioning on possible Russia ties. | “I do want you to be honest,” she said to Mr. Sessions at one Intelligence Committee hearing, almost tauntingly, as he protested the velocity of her questioning on possible Russia ties. |
| But for all her airtime during such gatherings, Ms. Harris has worked behind the scenes to curb any temptation to be overzealous in the inquiry, according to the committee’s top Democrat, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who said he had turned to her often for advice because he had never run a major investigation before. | |
| “There was a lot of pressure early on to bring in some of the bigger names early,” Mr. Warner said. “She was very much saying, ‘No, let’s do this in an orderly, methodical fashion.’” | “There was a lot of pressure early on to bring in some of the bigger names early,” Mr. Warner said. “She was very much saying, ‘No, let’s do this in an orderly, methodical fashion.’” |
| When explaining herself in public settings, she is known to start sentences with “I’m a prosecutor.” | |
| Still, some Republicans have found her style of questioning to be self-aggrandizing. Others see simple growing pains. | Still, some Republicans have found her style of questioning to be self-aggrandizing. Others see simple growing pains. |
| “Just getting used to how things work around here,” said Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho and a fellow intelligence committee member. “You need to let people answer the question.” He added that he got along well with Ms. Harris. | |
| As she positions herself within her own party, Ms. Harris has often sounded less ideological notes than some of her colleagues in the progressive wing, saying Democrats “cannot afford to be purists” with several senators up for re-election next year in states that Mr. Trump won handily. | As she positions herself within her own party, Ms. Harris has often sounded less ideological notes than some of her colleagues in the progressive wing, saying Democrats “cannot afford to be purists” with several senators up for re-election next year in states that Mr. Trump won handily. |
| At times, Ms. Harris has aligned herself with the left flank of the Democratic caucus in the interest of saving the right: In a recent fund-raising email, pinned to a Twitter feed with more than 560,000 followers, she tied her own treatment at the hearings to the silencing of Ms. Warren on the Senate floor earlier this year by the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. The donations were to be split among a group of female senators, including two of next year’s vulnerable incumbents, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. | At times, Ms. Harris has aligned herself with the left flank of the Democratic caucus in the interest of saving the right: In a recent fund-raising email, pinned to a Twitter feed with more than 560,000 followers, she tied her own treatment at the hearings to the silencing of Ms. Warren on the Senate floor earlier this year by the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. The donations were to be split among a group of female senators, including two of next year’s vulnerable incumbents, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. |
| A similar message signed by Ms. Harris for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was among the most lucrative email pitches of the year, according to the committee, where Ms. Harris is already approaching the top tier of sought-after fund-raisers. | A similar message signed by Ms. Harris for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was among the most lucrative email pitches of the year, according to the committee, where Ms. Harris is already approaching the top tier of sought-after fund-raisers. |
| Her office said she had raised more than $600,000 this year for other Democratic senators, more than $365,000 of that coming from small online donors. She plans to travel to her colleagues’ states to raise more money later in the fall. | Her office said she had raised more than $600,000 this year for other Democratic senators, more than $365,000 of that coming from small online donors. She plans to travel to her colleagues’ states to raise more money later in the fall. |
| Of course, Ms. Harris’s prominence and the attendant expectations have as much to do with the Democratic present as her own future. The path back to power is uncertain. The bench can seem thin. The most popular figure on the left, by some polling consensus, identifies as an independent: Mr. Sanders, who would be 79 on Election Day 2020. | Of course, Ms. Harris’s prominence and the attendant expectations have as much to do with the Democratic present as her own future. The path back to power is uncertain. The bench can seem thin. The most popular figure on the left, by some polling consensus, identifies as an independent: Mr. Sanders, who would be 79 on Election Day 2020. |
| And so far, at least, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters are not sold on Ms. Harris, who at times disappointed liberals in her statewide roles with a reputation for excess caution. Others are simply wary of any politician promoted too heavily by the party establishment, especially after the campaign of Hillary Clinton, for whom Ms. Harris’s sister, Maya, worked as a top adviser. | And so far, at least, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters are not sold on Ms. Harris, who at times disappointed liberals in her statewide roles with a reputation for excess caution. Others are simply wary of any politician promoted too heavily by the party establishment, especially after the campaign of Hillary Clinton, for whom Ms. Harris’s sister, Maya, worked as a top adviser. |
| “She’s not on our radar,” RoseAnn DeMoro, a Sanders ally and the executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, said of Ms. Harris. “She’s one of the people the Democratic Party is putting up. In terms of where the progressives live, I don’t think there’s any ‘there’ there.” | “She’s not on our radar,” RoseAnn DeMoro, a Sanders ally and the executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, said of Ms. Harris. “She’s one of the people the Democratic Party is putting up. In terms of where the progressives live, I don’t think there’s any ‘there’ there.” |
| Ms. Harris has earned less checkered reviews at a handful of public outings recently, appearing in May before a raucous live audience in San Francisco for a taping of the podcast “Pod Save America.” (Ms. Harris’s interview restrictions seem to apply less rigidly to former Obama administration officials with suitable megaphones. In addition to “Pod Save America,” which is hosted by ex-Obama aides, she sat for another podcast with David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s former top strategist.) | Ms. Harris has earned less checkered reviews at a handful of public outings recently, appearing in May before a raucous live audience in San Francisco for a taping of the podcast “Pod Save America.” (Ms. Harris’s interview restrictions seem to apply less rigidly to former Obama administration officials with suitable megaphones. In addition to “Pod Save America,” which is hosted by ex-Obama aides, she sat for another podcast with David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s former top strategist.) |
| In the May interview, Ms. Harris savaged the Republican health care proposals and twice deployed profanities, rousing the home state attendees. | In the May interview, Ms. Harris savaged the Republican health care proposals and twice deployed profanities, rousing the home state attendees. |
| “I was told one should not say” — here she let fly the longest of George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” — “in these kinds of interviews,” she said coyly. “So I’m not going to say it.” | “I was told one should not say” — here she let fly the longest of George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” — “in these kinds of interviews,” she said coyly. “So I’m not going to say it.” |
| In private as well, this four-syllable noun is said to be a favorite. | In private as well, this four-syllable noun is said to be a favorite. |
| Ms. Harris reunited with the “Pod Save America” hosts last week at the Capitol, where they introduced her at an outdoor rally to oppose the Senate health care bill. | Ms. Harris reunited with the “Pod Save America” hosts last week at the Capitol, where they introduced her at an outdoor rally to oppose the Senate health care bill. |
| For a few moments, she waited patiently for her turn, posing for cellphone pictures with well-wishers, smiling broadly at the side of the stage, shuffling over after Senator Cory A. Booker of New Jersey sidled up to join in the photography, too. | For a few moments, she waited patiently for her turn, posing for cellphone pictures with well-wishers, smiling broadly at the side of the stage, shuffling over after Senator Cory A. Booker of New Jersey sidled up to join in the photography, too. |
| When she reached the microphone, Ms. Harris moved quickly to familiar turf: “Remember, I’m a prosecutor,” she began. | When she reached the microphone, Ms. Harris moved quickly to familiar turf: “Remember, I’m a prosecutor,” she began. |
| She shifted for a moment in her heels. A stirring came from the edge of the crowd. | She shifted for a moment in her heels. A stirring came from the edge of the crowd. |
| And in a flash, it had happened again — another interruption at the Capitol, perhaps more welcome than usual. | And in a flash, it had happened again — another interruption at the Capitol, perhaps more welcome than usual. |
| “That’s what I’m saying,” a woman hollered back, parroting her this time. “I’m a prosecutor.” | “That’s what I’m saying,” a woman hollered back, parroting her this time. “I’m a prosecutor.” |