Kamala Harris' big role: Biden's eyes and ears in the Senate Jamie Stiehm FacebookTwitterEmail President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala HarrisDrew Angerer / Getty Images WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will spend a lot of time in the 50-50 Senate, you hear nowadays, since she’s constitutionally required to break tie votes. People say this with a sigh, as if the duty will be a drag and distraction. But there’s no better thing for shaping a new era of bridge-building between the Biden White House and Capitol Hill. Becoming president of the Senate presents an opportunity to be a critical player in re-inventing American democracy, battered in our time and breached in that very building, the Capitol.