ADVERTISEMENT

Kamala Harris Brags About Never Having a Private Sector Job

Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris / Getty Images
November 20, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) on Wednesday boasted about never working in the private sector.

Harris attempted to take a shot at South Bend, Ind., mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg's (D.) private-sector experience by highlighting how she has never earned a single dollar that was not provided by American taxpayers.

"For my entire career, I've only had one client: The People," Harris wrote.

Earlier in the afternoon, NBC News reporter Priscilla Thompson tweeted that Buttigieg would be releasing more tax returns from his tenure at McKinsey & Company, a powerhouse consultancy.

"[Buttigieg encourages] his opponents to disclose income from their time working in the private sector as well," Thompson tweeted, prompting Harris to tweet she has received $0 from the private sector.

Prior to Harris's 2017 election to the Senate, she was elected to multiple state government positions in California. After serving as a prosecutor for more than a decade in the 1990s, she was elected to be the San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011. She served as California's attorney general from 2011 to 2017.

Harris was also appointed to well-paid posts following law school on two California state commissions—the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the California Medical Assistance Commission. Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, who was openly in an extramarital relationship with Harris, admitted that he helped boost Harris's career in the 1990s.

Harris has defended her decision to take the position offered by her married lover despite her lack of experience.

"Whether you agree or disagree with the system, I did the work," she said during a 2003 SF Weekly interview. "I brought a level of life knowledge and common sense to the jobs."

Buttigieg, who had already released his tax returns from the past 10 years, made public the tax returns from his first two years at McKinsey in 2007 and 2008. He made $80,397 during his first year at McKinsey and paid $13,954 in taxes. He earned $122,680 and paid $25,776 in his second year, according to CBS News.