Vice President Kamala Harris Sets New Senate Tiebreaker Record with 32nd Vote

Vice President Kamala Harris made history on Tuesday by casting the most tiebreaking votes in the Senate, breaking a nearly 200-year-old record. Her 32nd tiebreaking vote came during the confirmation of a new federal judge in Washington, D.C., which was celebrated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.

The previous record for tiebreaking votes was held by John C. Calhoun, who cast 31 votes during his vice presidency from 1825 to 1832. Schumer presented Harris with a golden gavel after her historic vote, and she expressed her honor at the achievement.

Tiebreaking votes are one of the few constitutional duties for vice presidents, and Harris has been called upon to break deadlocks due to the closely divided Senate between Democrats and Republicans.

Despite the Senate’s expanded majority, Harris surpassed Calhoun’s record in less than half the time that he took to set it. Her tiebreaking votes have been instrumental in advancing measures such as the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as confirming judicial nominees.

Schumer acknowledged Harris’s role in promoting diversity in the judiciary by confirming more women and people of color to the bench, making the judiciary more representative of America.