U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris makes history with tie-breaking votes in Senate

Kamala Harris set another record in U.S. history when she matched a 191-year-old record of casting tie-breaking votes as a Vice President and backed the nomination of Indian-origin Kalpana Kotagal to be a member of a federal agency.

Kamala Harris set another record in U.S. history when she matched a 191-year-old record of casting tie-breaking votes as a Vice President and backed the nomination of Indian-origin Kalpana Kotagal to be a member of a federal agency.

Ms. Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of colour in 2020, equalled the record held by Senator John C. Calhoun, a Democratic-Republican who served as Vice President to John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson from 1825 to 1832.

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On July 12, Ms. Harris, 58, cast her vote on cloture for the nomination of Kotagal, a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert to serve as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

Ms. Harris broke a 50-50 tie on a vote in the Senate on the nomination of Kotagal, to bring her total of tie-breaking votes cast as Vice President since she assumed office to 31. That matches the record set by Calhoun, a Democratic-Republican and an avowed proponent of states’ rights and slavery.

Under the Constitution, the role of the Vice President is to preside over the Senate and break ties in case of a deadlock in the upper house. In the current 118th Congress, Democrats hold 51 seats and Republicans have 49 seats.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed Harris’s accomplishment on the floor on July 12 evening.