Vice President Kamala Harris hires new chief speechwriter after staffing upheaval
Kamala Harris will be hoping the third time is the charm.
The VP has hired a new chief speechwriter, her third since taking office in January 2021, Politico reported Wednesday.
The new head scribe, 38-year-old Dave Cavell, previously penned speeches for John Kerry, Barack Obama, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Cavell also ran unsuccessfully for the House seat left vacant by political scion Joe Kennedy III when he tried and failed to unseat Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in 2020.
Cavell will replace Meghan Groob, who left her post in July after serving for only three months, reportedly because she failed to gel with Harris and her team while working remotely.
Groob replaced Harris’ first chief speechwriter, Kate Childs Graham, who departed in February amid an exodus of top staffers as reports swirled of low morale in the VP’s office.
The new wordsmith will be tasked with cleaning up Harris’ copy, as she has been repeatedly mocked for making “word salad” speeches and glaring misstatements.
Harris, 57, was grilled in February for falsely saying that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would mark the first violent conflict in Europe in 70 years and for oversimplifying the war in a radio interview.
She was roasted for telling migrants “do not come” during a trip to Guatemala last year and for touting a strong “alliance” with North Korea last month while visiting the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
“The vice president takes very seriously the team that works for her and we were pleased to have such great help from both Kate Childs Graham, Meghan Groob, Chris Huntley, and now Dave Cavell,” communications director Jamal Simmons told the outlet.
“We look forward to her having many more interesting things to say.”
A Morning Consult-Politico poll from late last month found that Harris would be the second choice for president among Democratic voters if her 79-year-old gaffe-prone boss decided not to pursue re-election.
Harris has said she had not discussed the matter with Biden but insisted last month she would “proudly” remain on the ticket if he sought a second term.
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