It’s been more than a little clear, during the long weeks of hand-wringing about President Biden’s age and his ability to win, that there was another concern: The ability of Vice President Harris to step into his shoes.
Washington
Opinion | Careful, Democrats. Cast Harris aside at your peril.
Let me point out something that should be obvious: The Democratic Party, which relies on Black women as its most reliable voters, would be underestimating how they will react if such disregard is shown to the first Black female vice president.
I don’t know how Democrats will try to explain that leapfrog move, but it will take some high-level, hat-in-hand, verbal voodoo to ease the pain and anger that a lot of Black voters will justifiably feel. “The party elites would be committing suicide,” said Cornell Belcher, a pollster political analyst who worked for both Obama campaigns.
This question should have been a settled years ago, when Biden picked Harris as his running mate — and a majority of Americans voted to elect them as a team. Yes, Harris had a tough first year finding her voice, her footing and a team that best supports her leadership. But it is evident that Harris has found her stride, especially since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, as she has traversed the country trumpeting the long-term effects of that ruling. She has been steadfast in the weeks since Biden’s troubling debate performance last month. She knows she has been in the spotlight, quietly auditioning for a job that her boss was, until Sunday, determined to hold on to. Let’s just concede that walking that tightrope was not easy.
The pundit class and cable-news armies are salivating over the prospect of an open primary that would now drive ratings. Democrats pushing for an open primary claim the contest would boost voter engagement and also avoid the appearance of a coronation after Biden’s endorsement of Harris on Sunday. Plus, there simply isn’t time for that exercise.
But it is long past time to stop underestimating what Harris can do for a party that is in a ditch, thanks to this overlong Shakespearean drama about Biden’s acuity. She has strong support among Democrats, has muscled up on foreign and domestic issues in a manner few can because of her unique perch, not to mention daily access to classified briefings and her experience serving on key Senate committees.
And many of the things that were once points of criticism move into the plus column. Some progressives have called Harris a “cop” because of her background as a prosecutor. She was attorney general of the most-populous state, and, in this presidential match up, a litigator could bring special skills running against a felon who is still facing a mountain of legal charges and is backed by an army of conservatives who want to erode or erase our constitutional rights.
The criticism of her easy laugh — even her smile — are the stuff of high school taunts, and yet a youthful candidate who brings joy and light to the campaign trail while taking on heavy issues will appeal to voters who are yearning for optimism after a long period of turbulence. Her multicultural background and marriage allow her to build a narrative around change while facing opponents whose retrograde MAGA political messaging would take America backward.
I know some people will say I am arguing that the Black vice president should automatically get the job to avoid upsetting voters of color. Let me set that straight: The perceived insult is but one factor. A vice president who has performed admirably should get top consideration for the post because stepping up in case of emergency is the central part of the job. And many of the people who would likely be offended if she is passed over have a deep gut hunch that a White man would not be so easily dismissed.
At a time when reproductive rights are such a linchpin issue for female voters, the potential for treating Harris with disregard seems particularly reckless. Doubts about the vice president’s ability to ascend to the top jabs at a deep-tissue wound that throbs inside so many American women who have to work twice as hard and be over-credentialed before being even considered for a role they can clearly handle.
It’s one reason women over-index in measures of achievement in college and yet are grossly underrepresented in top corporate leadership. Women CEOs run barely 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies. It’s why people so often look past gleaming résumés and oodles of experience to float questions about whether a woman is really the right fit. It’s why so many people mask their own stubborn consternation about female authority by asking whether others will accept a woman in a top job.
Will voters accept her? Don’t forget that people (including a lot of Black voters) initially asked the same question about Barack Obama. And yes, voters asked that question about Hillary Clinton, as well. But let’s also remember that, not long ago, people questioned whether women could handle their own credit card or be trusted to vote.
If the Democrats opt for an open primary, I hope they have some muscular messaging to explain why they swerved from succession protocol. Otherwise, they are not just underestimating Harris, they are also underestimating a voting bloc that holds the key to their victory.
What do you think President Biden should do with the rest of his time in office? Share your responses with us, and they may be published in The Post.
An 18-year-old who was shot and wounded in Northwest D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood on Thursday afternoon has died, authorities say.
Brady Flowers Jr., of Southwest, was the victim, police said in an update Saturday.
Flowers was found shot in the 4500 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, behind the CVS store. Jackson-Reed High School and American University are nearby.
Flowers was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and pronounced dead a day later, police said.
Police said 10-15 teens were seen running after the gunshots.
An investigation is underway. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
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Washington
Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Washington County, Highlighting Transportation Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Early Childhood Education
Updated:
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today continued his statewide “Delivering for Maryland” tour with a series of engagements in Washington County, highlighting vital investments in local transportation infrastructure, manufacturing job growth, and early childhood education. The governor emphasized state contributions to modernize the Hagerstown Regional Airport, toured the state-of-the-art Hitachi Rail facility, and celebrated the opening of a new child care center in the South End of Hagerstown funded by the administration’s historic ENOUGH Initiative.
“From investing $1.5 million to update Hagerstown Regional Airport’s aging control tower to supporting 1,300 jobs at Hitachi Rail, the Moore-Miller administration is delivering for Hagerstown, Washington County, and Western Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “Through our administration’s ENOUGH Initiative partnerships and investments, we’ve tripled child care capacity in the South End of Hagerstown — because no parents should be forced to pick between staying in the workforce or securing quality care for their kids.”
The governor began the day at the Hagerstown Regional Airport, touring the Air Traffic Control Tower and airport grounds. During the visit, Governor Moore highlighted the State’s $1.5 million Fiscal Year 2027 investment to complete the design for a critical replacement of the airport’s aging air traffic control facility. As a primary airport in the Maryland Aviation System Plan, the Hagerstown Regional Airport is a vital economic engine for Washington County, supporting more than 1,800 jobs and generating over $140 million in local business revenue.
Following the airport tour, Governor Moore visited the Hitachi Rail STS facility alongside Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, Senator Mike McKay, Senator Paul Corderman and state transportation leaders. The governor toured the factory floor and rode a test train to observe the manufacturing process. Opened in September 2025 with the support of a $1.6 million state conditional loan, the 307,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral facility is a $100 million capital investment by Hitachi. The factory supports 1,300 jobs — including 460 newly created jobs — and is actively manufacturing railcars for both the Maryland Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
“Hitachi Rail has built a cutting-edge model for advanced manufacturing here in Western Maryland which is focused on delivering clean, safe, efficient regional transportation across our state and the rest of the country,” said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. “This facility is powered by Maryland’s second-to-none workforce and world-class innovation environment. I’m proud to work with Governor Moore and our public, private, and philanthropic partners to drive global investment that supports jobs and economic growth along our I-270 Tech Corridor.”
Governor Moore concluded the day at the Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center in the South End of Hagerstown, where he met with parents, children, and community leaders. During the visit, the Governor highlighted the administration’s ENOUGH Initiative, which provided critical support for the center’s opening. The new facility is a major win for the community, tripling local childcare capacity with 24 new slots and generating six new early childhood education jobs.
The Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center’s opening was accelerated by a $100,000 investment from San Mar Family & Community Services, the ENOUGH grantee in Hagerstown. ENOUGH grant funding was also supplemented by a $100,000 philanthropic contribution from the Bainum Family Foundation — a member of the ENOUGH Alliance — to complete necessary facility upgrades. The center’s completion underscores the strength of the ENOUGH Initiative’s public-private partnerships to deliver on community priorities and work towards ending child poverty.
Governor Moore’s visit to Washington County follows the third stop of his “Delivering for Maryland” tour in Montgomery County, where he marked a historic milestone by installing the final segment of rail for the Purple Line. This installation completes the 16.2-mile light rail corridor connecting Bethesda and New Carrollton, with passenger service expected to begin in late 2027. The governor also visited Max’s Best Ice Cream in Bethesda, a local business dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Best Buddies Jobs program.
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A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top justice department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.
The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and US attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the 25 April event at the Washington Hilton hotel when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.
In a court filing late on Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.
“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder – how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged US district judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other justice department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.
“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.
Pirro said her office would respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.
“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday on further charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.
The charges include attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the justice department last year. Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.
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