Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory About Kamala Harris Senate Resignation Is Grasping At Straws

There’s a conspiracy theory, among the same right-wing figures who wrongly insist Donald Trump won the election, that Kamala Harris doesn’t expect to take office. These more extreme voices believe that the proof lies in the fact that she hasn’t yet resigned her Senate seat. There’s no basis in fact for this.

Politifact covered this recently, specifically addressing one Newsmax report that hinted at the idea. The fact-checker cited experts saying there’s no rule or law, or even precedence, that states when Senator Harris should pass her seat on and focus on her new role as Vice President-Elect, and her upcoming role as Vice President. They note that others in similar situations have chosen to hold their seats into December or even January.

In fact, CNN‘s timeline of Joe Biden’s political career shows a parallel. In 2012, Biden was a U.S. Senator. That November, Barack Obama won the Presidential election, and Biden became Vice President-Elect. However, he didn’t resign his Senate seat until January 15 on 2013 — only five days before he was sworn in as Vice President.

This hasn’t stopped public figures like attorney Lin Wood from continuing to speculate — he tweeted Saturday morning to perpetuate the conspiracy, calling the Vice President-Elect “Cabala Harris” and asking his social media following to speculate on exactly what reasons she might have for not letting her Senate seat go too quickly.

Ask yourself this question this morning:

Why has Cabala Harris NOT resigned from U.S. Senate?

There are no coincidences.#FightBack

— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) December 19, 2020

Meanwhile, the question of who Governor Gavin Newsome will appoint to take Harris’ Senate seat has been a matter of debate. Inside Climate News reports that there has been a push to appoint a Black woman to the seat, because Harris is the only Black female Senator currently, and one of fewer than a dozen African Americans ever elected to Senate. Harris may just prefer to hold her seat, rather than vacating it, until Newsome comes to a decision.