When she was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2021, she became “the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected to this position,” the White House website says.
Born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to immigrant parents, she went on to become an attorney, graduating from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She started her legal career in the District Attorney’s office of Alameda County, California, later also serving at the San Francisco DA’s Office, where she later became DA herself. She subsequently became attorney general of California in 2010, overseeing the largest state justice department in the United States, and was re-elected to the post four years later.
In 2017, she was sworn into the United States Senate, where she questioned two Supreme Court nominees while serving on the Judiciary Committee, as well as serving on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
The White House website proclaims that Kamala Harris “always fights for the people” and as a senator she championed healthcare reform, the legalization of cannabis and the DREAM Act, which sought to create a route to citizenship for undocumented migrants. She has also advocated for strict gun control laws and progressive tax reform. She sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but withdrew after the primaries.
If accepted as the Democratic party nominee, she will face Donald Trump in the race for the Oval Office on November 5.
