Politics is usually a game of loud voices and even louder egos. But if you want to understand how the Office of the Vice President actually stayed upright during its rockiest years, you have to look at the person standing just outside the camera frame. We're talking about the Kamala Harris chief of staff role—a position that, for a while there, felt like one of the toughest gigs in Washington.
Honestly, the early days were messy. You probably remember the headlines from 2021 and early 2022. There was a lot of talk about "revolving doors" and "internal dysfunction." But then came Lorraine Voles.
She wasn't just another staffer. Voles was the "fixer" who finally brought a sense of calm to the 49th Vice President’s team. By the time Harris prepared to leave office in early 2025, the narrative had shifted significantly, largely due to the internal scaffolding Voles built.
The Lorraine Voles Era: Stabilizing the Ship
When Lorraine Voles took over as the Kamala Harris chief of staff in May 2022, she wasn't entering a vacuum. She was replacing Tina Flournoy, a veteran Clinton ally who had led the office through the grueling first sixteen months of the Biden-Harris administration.
Voles didn't come in as a stranger. She had been brought in months earlier as a senior advisor specifically to help with "organizational challenges." Basically, she was the consultant hired to fix the plumbing who ended up running the whole house.
Her background was exactly what a beleaguered VP office needed:
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- The Al Gore Connection: She served as communications director for Vice President Al Gore in the 90s. She knew the unique, often frustrating "second-in-command" dynamics better than almost anyone.
- The Hillary Factor: She was a key advisor to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 run. She understood the specific pressures and double standards faced by high-profile women in power.
- Academic Discipline: Before returning to the White House, she spent years as a top executive at George Washington University. That "ivory tower" experience actually gave her a different perspective on management that many career political hacks lack.
Voles was known for a "no-nonsense" style. She didn't want to be the story. She wanted the office to run like a clock so that Kamala Harris could focus on the "Blue Wall" states and her international portfolio.
Why the Chief of Staff Role Is a Pressure Cooker
People often ask why the Kamala Harris chief of staff position saw so much turnover early on. You had Tina Flournoy, then a brief transition, and then Voles. It’s easy to blame "personality," but that's a lazy take.
The reality? The Vice President’s office is a weird place. You have all the responsibility of the executive branch but none of the "final word" authority. You’re constantly coordinating with the President’s Chief of Staff (like Ron Klain or Jeff Zients), ensuring you don’t step on the West Wing’s toes while trying to build a distinct brand for the VP.
It’s a balancing act. If the VP looks too ambitious, the West Wing gets annoyed. If the VP looks too quiet, the press calls them "irrelevant." The Chief of Staff is the person who has to navigate that minefield every single morning.
The Move to Los Angeles and Life After the White House
As we sit here in 2026, the landscape has changed. After the 2024 election, where Donald Trump defeated the Harris-Walz ticket, the official role of Kamala Harris chief of staff transitioned to the new administration. On January 20, 2025, Jacob Reses took over the office to serve Vice President JD Vance.
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But what happened to the team that stayed with Harris until the end?
Lorraine Voles didn't just disappear. She remained a "trusted confidant" during the transition period. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, moved back to Los Angeles. They didn't just go there to retire, though. You've probably seen them in the news—helping out with food distribution after the Palisades Fire or making appearances at the Met Gala.
The "post-VP" version of the Harris team is smaller but arguably more focused. While Harris has signed with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) for her speaking and publishing deals, her core political advisors are still looking at the 2028 horizon.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Harris Staffing
There's this common myth that the "staffing issues" were purely about Harris being a "difficult boss."
Look, D.C. is a shark tank. Every Vice President—from Biden to Pence to Gore—has had periods of high turnover. The difference was the intense scrutiny on Harris. Every time a deputy press secretary left for a higher-paying job in the private sector, it was treated like a national crisis.
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What Voles did as the Kamala Harris chief of staff was professionalize the departures. She made it a "normal" office. People stayed longer. The leaks slowed to a trickle. She proved that the "chaos" wasn't inherent to Harris—it was an organizational hurdle that just needed the right manager to clear.
What's Next for the Harris "Brain Trust"?
If you're following the 2026 California gubernatorial race, you know Harris eventually decided not to run for Governor. That was a big "what if" for a lot of political junkies. Instead, she’s focused on her memoir, 107 Days, and an international book tour.
The people who served as her chiefs of staff—Flournoy and Voles—remain part of her legacy. They were the ones who managed the tie-breaking votes in the Senate and the high-stakes missions to Central America and Southeast Asia.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're watching the current administration or looking toward the 2028 election cycle, keep these points in mind:
- Watch the "Fixers": When a politician is struggling, don't look at their speeches. Look at who they hire as Chief of Staff. A "Voles-type" hire usually signals a shift toward discipline and long-term strategy.
- The "Second-in-Command" Trap: Understand that the VP’s staff is always at the mercy of the President’s agenda. Their success is often measured by what doesn't go wrong.
- Post-White House Power: Former chiefs of staff often become the most powerful consultants in the private sector. If you see Lorraine Voles or Tina Flournoy's names popping up on corporate boards or in strategic firms, it's because they have the ultimate "insider" knowledge of how the U.S. government actually functions.
The story of the Kamala Harris chief of staff is really a story of how a high-profile office matured under fire. It started with friction and ended with a veteran pro keeping the gears turning until the very last day of the term.
Next Step for You: If you're curious about how the current VP's office is being run in comparison, you might want to look into the background of Jacob Reses and how his approach differs from the "steady hand" Lorraine Voles brought to the table.