Kamala Harris says Mike Pence has ‘not yet’ spoken with her

Trump administration continues to break precedent for transition process, as Pence and Harris still to talk

Kamala Harris has revealed that she has ‘not yet’ spoken with her counterpart and current vice president Mike Pence since the presidential election was called.

Ms Harris, who became vice president-elect almost three weeks ago, told reporters on Wednesday she had not spoken with Mr Pence, nor the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, The Hill reported.

She told reporters that she “can’t speak directly to that,” when asked about Mr McConnell, whose control over the Senate, could dictate what Democrats can and cannot do when president-elect Joe Biden assumes office.

“I will tell you that it has been the priority for the president-elect and me from the beginning that we intend to and will work across the aisle to deal with these most intractable issues that are affecting people regardless of who they voted for in the election,” said Ms Harris.

As vice president, Ms Harris will become the president of the Senate and control daily proceedings, as well as cast deciding votes should two Democrats win runoff races in Georgia in January, and tie the upper chamber.

She was speaking to reporters after a visit on Wednesday to a nonprofit organisation that provides food for local people in Washington DC, the DC Central Kitchen, when she was asked about her conversations with Republican leaders.

Mr Biden, the president-elect, also revealed on Wednesday that US president Donald Trump was still to contact him since the election was called, in a break with precedent of the presidential transition process.  

When the Republican ticket won four years ago, Mr Biden, who was vice-president to Barack Obama, invited president-elect Pence to the White House for talks within two days of the election and their projected victory.

Mr Trump has continued to claim that he “won” the election, while his administration on Monday allowed the formal transition process to start, after some delay.

Mr Pence, for his part, has remained largely silent since the election, and has made few public appearances.  

Mr Biden won the 3 November race with 306 electoral votes compared to Mr Trump’s 232 electoral votes, according to The Associated Press.