Vice President Kamala Harris has been the subject of speculation about her political future amid a sagging approval rating that is lower than any of her modern-day predecessors.
Now, sources in D.C. are suggesting that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is being discussed by prominent political figures as the likeliest successor to President Joe Biden.
“It’s very open”
As one insider explained to Politico: “Nobody in the West Wing shuts that down. It’s very open.”
If true, it seems unlikely that Harris and her allies in the nation’s capital will take such a development lying down. Staffers are already said to be upset over talk about Buttigieg’s ascension and are calling on senior officials to stop the rumors in their tracks.
Furthermore, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would certainly face an uphill battle if he were to challenge Harris head-on since Black voters play an important role in electing virtually any Democrat.
Dating back to his own failed White House bid in the 2020 presidential primary, Buttigieg has struggled to resonate with a large swath of Black Democrats.
For his part, he has indicated that he is content in his cabinet position and works well with administration officials — including Harris. There has been no official White House statement on the controversy.
“That’s a very good thing”
At an event on Friday, Buttigieg shared a few thoughts about his current position, explaining: “This is the least I have had to think about campaigns and elections in about a decade and that’s a very good thing.”
He was also asked about recent scuttlebutt concerning a rivalry with Harris and took the opportunity to downplay such reports.
“We work extremely well with the vice president’s team and I’m proud to be part of the Biden-Harris team and this administration,” Buttigieg declared.
He has recently fueled some criticism on his own for taking an extended leave after he and his husband adopted two newborn babies. At about the same time, the nation saw supply chain interruptions become more severe as consumer costs continued to trend higher.
As the head of the Transportation Department, Buttigieg is currently busy traveling the country touting the perceived benefits of Biden’s infrastructure bill, declaring this week that he is excited “to have a lot of groundbreakings and eventually a lot of ribbon cuttings” as a result of its passage.
The post DC insiders suggest Buttigieg is replacing Harris as 2024 Democratic Party favorite first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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