Washington: Kamala Harris, who made history by becoming the first person of color to hold the office of vice president, has now matched the Senate record that has stood for 191 years for the most tie-breaking votes.
Her 31st such vote, advanced the nomination of Indian-origin Kalpana Kotagal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The only other VP to cast so many was John C Calhoun, VP from 1825 to 1832. “It is a moment and I think that there’s still so much left that we have yet to do,” Kamala said afterward. “My mother gave me great advice, which is that I may be the first to do many things,” she added. “I’m going to make sure I’m not the last.” Unlike Calhoun, who spent eight years accumulating his total, Kamala reached 31 in 2.5 years. It’s a reflection of her unique circumstances, with a narrowly divided Senate and a sharply partisan atmosphere.
On June 21, Kamala cast a vote to break a 50-50 tie on Natasha Merle's nomination to the Eastern District of New York bench and a 48-48 tie on the confirmation of Araceli Martinez-Olguin to the North District of California bench. In the first two years of Kamala's tenure as VP, the Senate was evenly split, making the nickname of “101st Senator” a reality.
Within the first three weeks of her employment in February 2021, Kamala cast her first tiebreakers. A record-breaking 15 tiebreaker votes in her first year as vice president surpassed Mike Pence's total of 13 in his four years in office, according to the media.
“It really says more about our time, and our political climate, than about anything else,” said Joel K Goldstein, a vice presidential historian. “Our politics is so polarised that, even on the sort of matters that in the past would have flown through, it takes the VP to cast a tie breaking vote.”