Kamala Harris Breaks a 191-Year-Old Record

 As the first female and person of colour to become Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris is continuing to make history. On Wednesday, she broke a 191-year-old record set by John C Calhoun by equalling his record of casting tie-breaking votes as a vice president.

Harris cast the decisive vote on the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, bringing her total of tie-breaking votes cast as vice president since she assumed office to 31. The 118th Congress currently has a Democratic majority in the Senate, holding 51 seats, and Republicans holding 49 seats.

This has resulted in the role of the Vice President being more important than ever, as under the US Constitution, the Vice President is expected to preside over the Senate and break ties in the case of a deadlock. Harris has taken on this role with aplomb, and has cast 15 tiebreaker votes in her first year as Vice President, setting a record and surpassing Mike Pence's 13 in all four years of his tenure.

One of the important votes that Harris has cast was for the nomination of Indian-origin Kalpana Kotagal to serve as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Commission is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of their race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

Kotagal is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, who has co-authored the seminal legal template Inclusion Rider, and represents disenfranchised people in employment and civil rights litigation involving issues related to Title VII, Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

On Wednesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Harris' accomplishment on the floor. He stated that she had "provided the decisive vote on some of the most historic bills of modern times, from the American Rescue Plan to the Inflation Reduction Act to so many federal judges who now preside and provide balance on the federal bench" and that she had carried out her duties with "supreme excellence".

The record-breaking tie-breaking votes that Harris has cast during her tenure as Vice President underscore the importance of her role in the US Senate. As the first female and person of colour to hold the role, Harris has demonstrated that her appointment was a step towards creating a more equal and inclusive society, and that she remains committed to upholding the values of the US Constitution.