Vice President Kamala Harris is searching for the next steps in her political career after losing the election, some former aides told Politico.
"She is not someone who makes rash decisions. She takes, sometimes, a painfully long time to make decisions. So I would pretty much guarantee you she has no idea what her next move is," former Harris aide Brian Brokaw told Politico.
Harris has maintained a low profile after losing to President-elect Donald Trump. She arrived in Kalaoa, Hawaii, on Tuesday for a vacation from her campaign schedule and duties as vice president.
Everything from running for governor in her home state of California to another presidential run could be on the table. Current California Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot seek another term in 2026 and reportedly has White House aspirations of his own.
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"Could she run for governor? Yes. Do I think she wants to run for governor? Probably not. Could she win? Definitely. Would she like the job? I don’t know. Could she run for president again? Yes," Brokaw told Politico.
"Would she have a whole bunch of skepticism from the outset, because she has run in a full-length Democratic primary where [in 2019] she didn’t even make it long enough to be in the Iowa caucus, and then she was the nominee this year?"
Some former aides say that Harris has limited time and political capital to decide whether she wants to run for office.
"She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to run for something again in the next six months," one former Harris campaign aide told Politico. "The natural thing to do would be to set up some type of entity that would give her the opportunity to travel and give speeches and preserve her political relationships."
Another person in Harris' orbit emphasized that time is running short for Harris to make a decision.
"There will be a desire to hear her voice, and there won’t be a vacuum for long," a person close to Harris reportedly said.
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The timing of the vice president’s trip to Hawaii following her loss has generated questions, especially since some Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffers have been surprised by sudden layoffs amid reports that the Harris campaign spent $1.5 billion in 15 weeks on a losing effort.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the Harris vacation during a Thursday briefing, arguing there was nothing "wrong" with the vice president taking a vacation.
"The vice president has taken time off to go spend time with her family. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think she deserves some time to be with her family and to have some downtime. She has worked very hard over – for the last four years, and her taking a couple of days to be with her family, good for her. Good for her," Jean-Pierre said.
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.
