Thread by @dsamuelsohn

NEW: It's Kamala Harris' administration, too. Her former staffers are landing senior gigs throughout the government that will help the VP exert influence in Bidenworld. by @rbravender ($) in @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-…

Kamala Harris' former staffers are landing powerful gigs throughout the White House and executive branch, expanding the vice president's network of allies throughout the Biden administration.

Building a big network of trusted confidants in DC power corridors has long been important to vice presidents & will be critical for Harris as she looks to exert her influence throughout the administration — & potentially prepare for another future White House run of her own.

By helping former staffers land jobs in the Biden admin, Harris can show loyalty to aides who toiled for her in the Senate & campaign trail. It's also a way to train & prepare allies in case POTUS isn't able to finish his term or she runs for the presidency in the future.

"It is traditional and it is common for the vice president's office to place former staff members when they're qualified and capable of doing a job," said Moe Vela, who worked for Al Gore and Biden when they were vice presidents.

At least 13 people who worked for Harris' Senate office have so far landed in the Biden White House, according to an Insider analysis of administration announcements and a congressional staffing database.

Former Harris Senate and presidential campaign staffers have also gotten jobs in the VP's office and in federal agencies too. And there's more to come on the hiring front.

Others in Harris' orbit have gotten tentative job offers from the administration, but have been told to keep the details under wraps until the hirings are official, according to a former Harris Senate aide.

Ex-Harris staffers who aren't landing top jobs in the administration are expressing frustration to their Dem colleagues that they haven't gotten enough help securing work, per 3 former Democratic Senate aides who are in touch with ex- staffers from Harris' Senate office.

Some of the former Senate aides told Insider that they have been getting calls from ex-Harris aides who are worried about their job prospects.

"The expectation is that folks are going to look out for you," said one former Democratic staffer. "If you worked hard and served loyally, the hope is that folks are going to look out for their colleagues still in the Senate office if they want to move."

Gil Duran, who worked for Harris when she was California's attorney general, said he has "heard buzz that people who had played a big role on her Senate staff were out in the cold now."

Harris' Senate aides were told by senior staff after the November election that it would take the administration a while to staff up, according to a former Harris Senate staffer.

With that in mind, they were told not to limit their job searches to the executive branch, and to pursue a dual track that involved looking for work outside the administration at the same time.

"We were told from the beginning that staffing up a new administration takes months," the ex-Harris aide said. "I know they're doing what they can to help former Senate staff land new opportunities both inside & outside the administration but unfortunately it can take some time."

Even if former Harris staffers don't land gigs working for Biden, some former staffers can leverage their connections to land lucrative gigs in the private sector.

"If you've got Kamala Harris on your resume, you're probably going to end up doing okay," said Duran, who worked on Capitol Hill for Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and is now a columnist for the Sacramento Bee.

There's much more in this story on the VP's staffing efforts available exclusively for @thisisinsider subscribers. Here's how to sign up: businessinsider.com/subscription