Madame VP Kamala Harris’ Closet

 1) She joined President Biden to receive the President’s Daily Brief at the Oval Office.

2) Then she welcomed and received disabilities advocates to discuss at a round table meeting about voting rights at the Vice President's Ceremonial Office.

She also heard about their experiences about casting their vote, and discuss protecting the right to vote. According to the media present at the close door meeting, "Much of the conversation revolved around handicap ramps and transportation issues. During the pandemic last year, Babis said, many access issues were exacerbated."

3) Then she received American singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo to her office. Ms. Rodrigo who was earlier received by President Biden in the Oval Office. President Biden was joined by Dr. Anthony Fauci for a vaccination campaign on social media which will involve a few social media celebrities.

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 Here is her schedule for Monday July 12th:

1) In the morning, she joined President Biden in the Oval Office to receive the President's Daily Briefings.

2) Then she departed for the State of Michigan onboard Air Force 2 at Joint Base Andrews where she landed at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan for her first day trip in Detroit. 

Photo Credit: Opal Vadhan 46/Twitter

During the trip from Washington, Kate Childs Graham, director of speechwriting, and Rohini Kosoglu, domestic policy advisor, two staff members of the Office of the Vice President traveling with the Vice President were celebrating their birthdays. Vice President Harris joined her staff with cupcakes which shared.

Photo Credit: Rachel Palermo 46/Twitter

Photo Credit: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

On descending Air Force 2, she was welcomed by Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist

3) First on her schedule was a round table panel discussion on voting rights where she was joined by Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson at the TCF Center. VP Harris is leading the Biden administration's initiative on voting rights, said the Texas legislators “are showing extraordinary courage and commitment." 

4) Still at the TCF Center, she attended a vaccination mobilization event then delivered remarks. She was joined by Democratic U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit and Brenda Lawrence of Southfield. During the event, she urge Detroit residents to get vaccinated, emphasizing its importance and the fight against COVID-19, as well as talking on voting rights.

In her remarks she praised front-line workers who during the pandemic served in various capacities including nursing home workers, food distribution volunteers, health care administrators and others as "heroes." She touted the Biden administration's progress in vaccinating millions of Americans, with 48% of the population fully vaccinated.

5) Later in the afternoon she attended a political fundraiser for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the evening. 

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 On Thursday, here's Vice President Harris' publicly known schedule:

1) In the morning she was in the Southern Auditorium, where she hosted a virtual “National Vaccine Month of Action” event with community partners from across the country.

During the session, she thanked hundreds of grassroots and community organizations and volunteers across the country who are working to get their communities vaccinated. 

2) Then she joined President Biden in the Oval Office to meet with a bipartisan group of Senate Leaders to negotiate on the Infrastructure spending bill.

After a bipartisan agreement was made, President Biden and the attending Senators gaggle with the press on the historic deal, with Vice President Harris looking on with other members of the Top negotiating team which included: Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the President, Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council and Louisa Terrell, WH legislative affairs director.

Then she joined President Biden in the East Room where the President deliver remarks in the bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.

 So sorry for the long silent over here, between power(electricity) shortage over the week and being ill, I hadn't had the time to post anything, so here is a catch up.

On Monday June 21st, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Pittsburgh accompanied by Secretary Marty Walsh for her daylong visit as part of what is being dubbed “Child Tax Credit Awareness Day” by the Biden administration.

Air Force Two departed Joint Based Andrew and landed at Pittsburgh International Airport just after 11 a.m. Monday where she was welcomed by Federal and state officials like U.S Senator Bob Casey.

Photo Credits: Sen. Bob Casey/Facebook

1) Then she headed to the Brookline Memorial Recreation Center in Brookline, where she spoke with a class of students participating in the Citicamp summer program and the held a private roundtable meeting with staff and government officials. After which she delivered remarks on the Child Tax Credit at a press conference. 

She informed the general public that the monthly Child Tax Credit payments will begin going out in July, and she says she hopes to extend the program and continue it for at least five more years.

Attending were Local leadership, Rep. Conor Lamb, Pennsylvania's AG Josh Shapiro, County Exec. Rich Fitzgerald, Mayor Bill Peduto and Sen. Bob Casey.

Then she met and took pictures with some Day Campers which included Stella Quatrini.

Photo Credit: Vincent Evans 46/Twitter

2) Then Vice President Harris then met with union members for a round-table discussion with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on organizing workers and empowerment at the Electrical Workers Union Hall on the South Side, talking about reinforcing the right to collective bargaining and eliminating intimidation.

After the meeting, VP Harris and Secretary Walsh met with and showed their solidarity with three Google contractors who formed a union in Pittsburgh becoming the first group of white-collar tech workers to vote for a union in the country.

Photo Credit: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

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For the Pittsburgh visit, VP Harris wore her go-to ensembles which is, the Altuzarra Black Fenice Jacket paired with the Serge Pant. Adding to it she had on her navy silk Perla top from Lafayette 148 New York.

 On Friday, Madam Vice President was bound for Atlanta, Georgia for her second We Can Do This," vaccination state tour, on Monday she was in Greenville, South Carolina. The tour helps with vaccine education and outreach efforts in order to reach President Biden's goal of getting 70 percent of Americans vaccinated by July 4.

Photo Credits: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

She arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where she was welcomed by the State's federal legislator Georgia's 5th congressional district Representative Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Atlanta's Mayor Keisha Bottoms.

1) She began her tour at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Church is a historic church in the black community located in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district where many US civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr had preached in the 1960s

During informal remarks to those who were being administered vaccines, the Vice President urged people, “These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and the lives of people you love,” she also said “to get the word out” to help their friends and neighbours overcome obstacles to getting vaccinated like needing childcare and fear of needles.

She was accompanied by Congresswoman Nikema Williams, from right, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Senator Jon Ossoff, Senator Raphael Warnock, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Dr. Jayne Morgan, Cardiologist and the Executive Director of the COVID Task Force at the Piedmont Healthcare Corporation

2) After she departed for Clark Atlanta University, where she gave remarks at a COVID vaccination mobilization event. During her remarks, she said,“But there are some people, a lot of people might say, ‘I haven’t been vaccinated yet because I’m just not sure," she also acknowledged people's hesitancy, "It is OK to have questions," and she urged Atlantans to tell their friends and neighbours: “We can say with confidence the vaccines are safe, they are free and they are effective.”

Clark Atlanta University is a private Methodist historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. The University is the first HBCU in the Southern United States founded on September 19th 1865 as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988.

3) After giving the remarks she participated in a close room conversation on voting rights with community leaders.

 Thursday marked a historical day. With many years of campaigning to mark Juneteenth a Federal Holiday, it finally came through with both the Vice President and then the Presidents signing into a Federal Day.

The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act bill was passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday in a 415 to 14 vote after clearing the Senate unanimously, was first by the House Speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi then signed Vice President Harris who in her role as President of the Senate signed her first bill in the Roosevelt Room with a bust of Frederick Douglas looking on.

Photo Credits: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

The bill had been championed for years by Black legislators in the US Congress led by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas.

Then she move on and joined President Biden in the East Room for the President's signature to the bill into law. Before that the Vice President gave remarks, “Today is a day of celebration,” said Vice President Harris. “It is not only a day of pride, it is also a day for us to reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to action.”

She also went on and reminded the 80+ White House guests who were invited which included Congress Legislators who helped passed in the bill, that they were gathered in a "house built by enslaved people," and said the holiday would be an occasion to "reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to action."

The campaign to federally recognise Juneteenth also as known as the US’s “Second Independence Day” began with Opal Lee, a 94-year-old Texan and many other Civil Rights Activists of her generation who has campaigned her entire life to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Juneteenth which is marked on June 19th previously known as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day or Emancipation Day commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, when the last enslaved Black Americans were told they were free during the US Civil War between Confederate slave-holding states in the south and Union free states in the north

Confederate forces surrendered in April 1865, but the message of liberation did not reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years ago, liberating American slaves in 1863.

Most US states already recognise Juneteenth as a holiday or have an official observance of the day with most been a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington, DC.

 1) In a pre recorded video, Madam Vice President gave the opening remark at the 16th Brussels Forum 2021 organised by the German Marshall Fund of the United States(GMF). 

The Vice President spoke about the importance of Democracy and re-instate the words said by President Biden, that "America is Back," on the diplomatic stage and with its G7 and NATO Allies. 

At the 2021 Brussels Forum, I made clear that the strength of one democracy depends on the strength of all democracies. https://t.co/o2KAxVN4x5

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) June 15, 2021

On June 14, coinciding with the opening day of Brussels Forum, NATO’s Heads of State and Government will come together in Brussels for the first in-person NATO Summit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to address the most pressing challenges for the transatlantic community as part of the NATO 2030 agenda.

2) She later went to the Southern Auditorium where she made a $1.25 billion investment to hundreds of Community Development Financial Institutions announcement during an event accompanied by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the White House complex.

She was also accompanied by Chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Service, Rep. Maxine Waters (D), Chairman of Senate Intel Committee, Sen Mark Warner.

The investments funds which comes through the "Rapid Recovery Program" will benefit more than 860 community development financial institutions, which lend to small businesses and people in disadvantaged communities that have trouble getting loans from big banks. 

As a strong supporter of small, minority-owned businesses, the Vice President wearing her Prabal Gurung Hand Tailored Double Crepe Cream Suit said that the investment comes at a pivotal time in the country's economic recovery. With businesses beginning to re-open to full capacity across the country as virus cases plummet, but many have struggled to hire new workers 

3) On the occasion of the 9th anniversary since the signing in place of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA Act) by President Obama to mark the occasion Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a roundtable meeting in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office with with a group of female immigrants who have temporary protection from deportation through DACA as the administration looks to revive a bipartisan push to grant DACA recipients legal status through a pair of bills that have languished in the Senate.

The group of women who are either DACA recipients, or "Dreamers," women with temporary protected status or green cards holders who met with Vice President Harris work as care professionals. Joining them were Senator Richard Durbin, D-IL., and Senator Bob Menendez, D-N.J., 

4) Later in the evening, Vice President Harris hosted a bipartisan group of women Senators at her Official Residence the Naval Observatory for an early dinner. The group which includes 16 Democrats and 8 Republicans.

Photo Credit: Sen Stabenow (D-MI)

Out of the 24 who received and accepted the Vice President's invitation are mostly her old colleagues from her Senators days include: 

• Sen. Collins (R-ME)
• Sen. Ernst (R-IA)
• Sen. Capito (R-WV)
• Sen Stabenow (D-MI)
• Sen. Murray (D-WA)
• Sen. Shaheen (D-NH)
• Sen. Feinstein (D-CA)
• Sen. Hassan (D-NH)
• Sen. Hirono (D-HI)
• Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN)
• Sen. Smith (D-MN)
• Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV)
• Sen. Duckworth (D-IL)
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski
• Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska)
• Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Sen. Jackie Rosen (D-NV)
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
• 
  

 On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris began her vaccination tour with departing Joint Based Andrews for Greenville, South Carolina arriving at Greenville-Spartanburg Regional Airport.

The tour which for the Vice President is a five state campaign, begins in South Carolina is part of the Administration's part of a national effort to vaccinate 70% of American adults by July 4th. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Cabinet members will be making their way to states with some of the Nation's lowest vaccination rates like North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana. South Carolina joins them by having only fully vaccinated only 39% of its residents as of Monday morning, is also one of them.

2) She began the tour by speaking to people working at a COVID vaccination mobilization event held at the Phillis Wheatley Community Center and hosted by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People(NAACP) Chapter in Greenville, South Carolina where she said the vaccine is safe, effective, and free. 

The mobilization group is part of the effort to get those who still haven't gotten a shot their vaccine. She told the crowd that she understands the public's skepticism over the expedited development of the various COVID-19 Vaccines and explain that the research behind these where a results of many years of research into the various variants of the coronavirus.

Photo Credit: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

She also explained that being vaccinated is a form of community service. "This Act... is a projection of love thy neighbor," she added.

She also spoke about the other reasons as to why people are hesitating to getting administered their vaccines. "Part of the reason why people are hesitating to take their vaccines is because there are barriers that make it harder for people to access them," she said. 

She spoke about the transportation barriers, and there are barriers that come from the lack of childcare and support experienced by parents, both before and after getting their shots. 

3) Then she departed for the Caine Halter YMCA branch where she toured the five vaccination stations which were set up and managed by Walgreens. 

Vice President Harris, who was accompanied by Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer and tour guide, Niki Pappos-Elledge, spoke to Lawanda Curry, a student from Greenville as she was getting the shot administered. 

4) She also participated in a closed "listening session" to listen from local leaders about voting rights and registration

5) Before departing Greenville, she gaggle with the traveling press on the tarmac 

 After a busy and successful first international trip to Guatemala and Mexico at the beginning of the week, there was no publicly known schedule for the Vice President on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris and her team paid a visit to CentroNía, a bilingual early childhood education center in Northwest Washington D.C.

She met with staff and students and even participated in various activities including singing, having conversations and laughters as well as gave her American Flag pin to a students to wear.

VP Kamala Harris lets a young student wear her American flag pin.

Another student makes her laugh: “If he wears it, he’s the vice president.” pic.twitter.com/3dmdnKxyIs

— The Recount (@therecount) June 11, 2021

After that she delivered remarks on the Administration’s efforts to expand child care and relieve the financial pressures of parenthood. The current discussions involves new guidance on $15 billion in grants to support child care programs, forthcoming payments to families from the child tax credit and a separate credit to help parents pay for care.

These are all parts of the continued implementation of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package to help stimulate the U.S. economy which is slowly healing from the coronavirus pandemic. It has been estimated and expected that several million families will benefit from the assistance, while underscoring that the money should enable more parents to work and boost economic growth.

“We know that the pandemic did not invent these challenges, but it certainly accelerated these challenges,” Vice President Harris said. “Childcare centers were closed. Parents have been out of work. Families’ budgets have been stretched.”

 Later in the evening of June 7th, Madam Vice President depart Air Force Base in Guatemala City for her second trip arrives at Benito Juarez International Airport for her official visit to Mexico in Mexico City. She was welcome by the current Interim US Ambassador to Mexico, John S. Creamer

Photo Credit: Sabrina Singh 46/Twitter

June 8th:

1) Before the roundtable meeting with the Mexican authorities, Vice President Harris met with Mexico's Head of State President Andrés Manuel López Obrador where she was given a tour of the Palacio Nacional, which doubles as the President's Official residence, and showed her “The History of Mexico” by Diego Rivera. 

Photo Credits: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

2) Then there was a signing of a memorandum of Understanding(MOU) which she witnessed, along with President Lopez Obrador, between the American and Mexican governments on migration cooperation on the Patio de Honor. The memorandum was to establish a strategic partnership to cooperate on development programs in the region

Photo Credit: Sabrina Singh 46/Twitter

3) Following that, the Vice President and the Mexican President met for private meetings and broader talks where it was reportedly said that the Vice President told Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that she saw him as a partner in tackling migration as they both agreed to deepen economic ties and invest to improve conditions in Central America.

Much of the focus for Tuesday's meeting was on improving livelihoods, and the United States pledged an additional $130 million over three years to support Mexican worker rights along with a goal of creating $250 million in investment and sales in southern Mexico, it said in a vaguely worded statement.

It was reported that the two sides will hold a meeting known as a high-level economic dialogue in September to look at ways to promote investment and make the most of a new trade deal, statements from both governments said.

Participating in the meeting from the Mexican side included: Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard; Government Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero and the head of the National Immigration Institute, Francisco Garduño.

Representing the United States apart from the Vice President, were the charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Mexico, John S. Creamer, and the special US envoy for the Northern Triangle of Central America, Ricardo Zuñiga, Juan Gonzalez, a special assistant to US President Joe Biden and senior director of the National Security Council for the Western Hemisphere and among others.

4) Later she met with female entrepreneurs in a hotel in downtown Mexico City. During their meeting, she listened to their stories on their business, how the pandemic have affected their business, life as a woman in Mexico.

5) Then she met with labor leaders in Mexico to express the United State’s solidarity with them. Supporting them to encourage workers are strong, our economies are strong. After which she met with and greeted the US Embassy's Mexico staff.

6) Then she held a press conference and gaggled with the accredited media which traveled with the Vice President. 

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 June 6th

On Sunday, Madam Vice President Harris began her first foreign trip which was to Guatemala and Mexico. The flight which depart from Joint Base Andrews got off to a rocky start Sunday, when a technical issue grounded Air Force 2 after about 30 minutes into the flight.

It was two hours later when she and accompanying passengers switched planes to the back-up C32, which is an Air Force Boeing modified 757 before continuing on to Guatemala City, where she held the first of two days of talks on Monday to discuss the root causes of migration from Central America and Mexico.

Photo Credit: Opal Vadhan 46/Twitter

Vice President Harris has described her task as finding solutions to tackle the root causes of the border crisis, including corruption and the lack of economic opportunities. Her staff say this first visit is primarily an information-gathering trip.

On arrival in the capital city Guatemala City she was welcome after deplaning by Guatemala's Foreign Affairs Pedro Brolo and US Ambassador to Guatemala William Pop.

June 7th

On Monday, she met with Guatemalan President Dr. Alejandro Giammattei at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura where they first began the day with a two-hour round and bilateral table frank and candid meeting with both sides directly addressing what they want and where their concerns lie.

“We don’t have time for glossing over concerns that we have, and so we did have a very frank conversation about the importance of an independent judiciary. We had a conversation about the importance of a strong civil society,” Harris said, nodding to areas where Giammattei and his allies have faced criticism.

During the meeting, the Vice President laid out a plan on how to deter migration to the U.S. by working to improve both physical and economic security and combat corruption. She further explained that The Biden Administration will create an anti-corruption task force that will conduct investigations and will also enlist U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement officers to train their Central American counterparts to build corruption cases. The U.S. will also launch a task force to help combat human smuggling and trafficking across the various borders.

2) After both the Vice President and the Guatemalan President held a Press Conference, Vice President Harris warned against illegal migration to the US, saying: "Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders." She further added that Guatemalans must be given a "sense of hope that help is on the way".

Photo Credit: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

"It must be coupled with relationships of trust. It must be coupled with tangible outcomes, in terms of what we do as leaders to convince people that there is a reason to be hopeful about their future and the future of their children," she further added.

Noting to areas where the Guatemalan President and its government have been lacking and have been facing criticism both in Guatemala and abroad, VP Harris “We don’t have time for glossing over concerns that we have, and so we did have a very frank conversation about the importance of an independent judiciary. We had a conversation about the importance of a strong civil society,” 

3) Later, she held another roundtable meeting with human rights activists and other Guatemalan civil society leaders accompanied by Ambassador William Pop on addressing the root causes of migration.

Photo Credit: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

During the meeting, Vice President Harris spoke of the “impact that the lack of judicial independence can have on civil society, especially with regard to the highest courts in the land.

Photo Credit: Sabrina Singh 46/Twitter

4) Then she held another roundtable meeting and spoke at a women's intergenerational innovators and entrepreneurs event held at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala in Guatemala City.

She also visited the Lab where she participated and held conversations with the ladies where she learned about their businesses and the challenges faced by business owners

Photo Credits: Peter Velz 46/Twitter

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