Democrats are expressing growing frustration over former Vice President Kamala Harris’ withdrawal from public life, reportedly staying in her $8 million waterfront mansion in Malibu, which is funded by taxpayers.
Despite her promise to “never be quiet at night,” her largely reclusive behavior has been evident since her defeat by President Trump in the 2024 election.
A Democratic consultant close to her remarked, “She’s not someone who likes to go out and about. She doesn’t want to engage with people in a way that hasn’t been calibrated yet.” This absence has unsettled many.
When she returned to Los Angeles last January, the aftermath of wildfires was still apparent just a few miles from her Brentwood home. While she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have participated in events linked to recovery, Harris has embraced a level of privacy quite unusual for her.
In February, she began to lean towards a different path post-politics, signing with the Creative Artists Agency and launching a new “Office of Kamala D. Harris” website, which celebrated her time as vice president. Some Democrats viewed this as more aligned with Hollywood than grassroots efforts.
There is some bitterness among LA progressives regarding what they perceive as her deliberate isolation from the city. One consultant referred to her limited social interactions as “Kamala’s Los Angeles.”
Recent news of her and Emhoff purchasing an $8 million home in a secluded Malibu area hasn’t helped, as it highlights their distance from everyday Angelenos.
The status of their four-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot Brentwood home remains unclear; Emhoff acquired it in 2012, prior to his relationship with Harris.
Critics have pointed out that while Harris maintains a low profile, taxpayers are still bearing the costs associated with her security. Following President Trump’s decision to remove her Secret Service detail, local officials in Los Angeles had to enhance their security measures, which has drawn criticism from the city’s police union.
The union argued, “It is outrageous to remove police officers from protecting everyday Angelenos to protect a failed presidential candidate who is a millionaire, owns multiple homes, and can easily afford to pay for his own safety.”
After spending a year largely out of the public eye, Harris, who recently discontinued her efforts to fill California Governor Gavin Newsom’s upcoming vacancy, appears to be tentatively re-entering public life. She recently participated in a Democratic National Committee meeting and joined several prominent Democrats in criticizing President Trump’s approach to Venezuela.
