WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday broke the record by casting the most tie-breaking votes in the Senate in U.S. history.
She has now broken 32 ties, beating the previous record of 31 that was set by John C. Calhoun, who was vice president from 1825 to 1832.
Harris’ tie-breaking vote on Tuesday came on the nomination of Loren Alikhan to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia.
In addition to serving in the executive branch, vice presidents are also the president of the Senate, giving them the constitutional power to break ties.
Her Tuesday vote also puts the U.S. at 300 tie breaks since 1789, according to Senate records.
Vice presidents being called on to break ties in the Senate was less common in recent administrations. Former Vice President Mike Pence cast 13 tie-breaking votes. President Joe Biden did not cast any tie-breaking votes when he was vice president in the Obama administration.
But the Senate has been narrowly divided during the entirety of the Biden administration. The Senate is currently divided between 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans and three independents, though two of the independents caucus with Democrats: Sens. Bernie Sanders and Angus King. The third independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, left the Democratic Party in 2022 to register as an independent.
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