WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison is feeling “trapped” in his job amid tensions with the White House over his role, according to several reports.
Decisions for the committee are made by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, who was also President Joe Biden’s campaign manager. She has only spoken three times a month by Zoom with Harrison, leaving him frustrated.
Harrison has not flown out to meet with DNC donors, instead opting to stay in his home state of South Carolina, which has been a major concern for the White House. Biden’s approval ratings have been dipping for months and the White House nor Harrison has come up with a way to help the President out of his slump.
The concerns for Democrats come amid a possible midterm beatdown as they are in danger of losing the House or Senate, maybe even both to the Republicans. Between Biden’s low approval ratings and dysfunction at the top of the Democratic party, that spells trouble for the President’s party.
Pennsylvania Democrats Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro declined to appear with Biden during his trip to Pennsylvania on Friday, citing scheduling issues as the reason.
According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Harrison’s frustrations have led to him looking for the exit door. Republicans are expected to make big gains in both the House and Senate and Harrison is wanting to run for Congress once House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) retires.
NBC News reported there is tension among the White House and Harrison surrounding his decision to stay home in South Carolina and not travel to other parts of the country.
“There’s blame to be shared,” a source told NBC, who added that the White House has not been able to devise an effective clear message for Harrison to carry to help reverse Biden’s slide. “Has he demonstrated that he’s going to move heaven and earth to raise money and defend the administration? No. But it’s pretty impossible to defend what’s happening and not happening.”
