Kamala Harris matches this 101-year-old US Senate record: ‘When it’s mattered…'

Majority leader Chuck Schumer mentioned Kamala Harris’s accomplishment on the Senate floor.

Kamala Harris matched a record in US history of casting tie-breaking votes as vice-president of the United States. As she backed the nomination of Indian-origin Kalpana Kotagal to be member of a federal agency, she matched the 101-year-old record held by senator John C Calhoun, who was a Democratic-Republican vice president to John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson from 1825 to 1832. The US vice president has a constitutional role in which they presides over the senate and breaks ties if the house is deadlocked after voting.

US vice president Kamala Harris. (Bloomberg)

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer mentioned Kamala Harris’s accomplishment on the floor saying, “I want to note that this is a history-making moment for the United States Senate. When it’s mattered most, Vice President Harris has 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. She’s carried out her duties with supreme excellence."

Kamala Harris made history as first woman of colour to be vice president in 2020.

What was Kamala Harris' vote for?

Kamala Harris cast her vote for nomination of Kotagal for as member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission- responsible for enforcing federal laws which make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant based on the person's race, colour, religion, sex, origin, age or disability. The senate was at a 50-50 tie which was broken by Kamala Harris bringing the total number of her tie-breaking votes to 31.