VP Kamala Harris’ spokesperson Symone Sanders pushes back against claims of secrecy and strife in office: ‘We are not making rainbows and bunnies all day’

• Symone Sanders, advisor and spokesperson for Kamala Harris, rejected reports about the VP’s office.
• Reports this week suggested communication with Harris is rarely granted to allies.
• Sanders defended Harris’ chief of staff Tina Fournoy and said Fournoy has an “open door policy.”
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Symone Sanders, the chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, on Wednesday pushed back against reports the VP’s office has limited communication with key allies.

Reports from CNBC and Politico alleged Tina Flournoy, Harris’ chief of staff, has isolated Harris’ allies in recent months, and is highly selective in granting access to the VP among members of her inner circle.

Flournoy is a Washington politics veteran, having worked in the Democratic National Committee and in former President Bill Clinton’s administration.

The reports said Flournoy routinely directs policy questions, such as ones related to immigration, to Harris’ senior advisers, and that donors and some of Harris’ longtime political allies who spoke anonymously feel frozen out.

Sanders defended Flournoy, according to Politico and said Flournoy has an “open door policy.”

“Black women like me would not have the opportunity to work in politics without Tina,” Sanders said, calling sources who anonymously criticized Flournoy “cowards.”

“We are not making rainbows and bunnies all day. What I hear is that people have hard jobs and I’m like ‘welcome to the club,'” Sanders told Politico.

“We have created a culture where people, if there is anything anyone would like to raise, there are avenues for them to do so. Whoever has something they would like to raise, they should raise it directly.”