Kamala Harris memoir reveals 'Red File' contingency plan for Biden's potential departure

WASHINGTON — A year before President Joe Biden suspended his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris's inner circle mapped out a contingency called the "Red File" to manage a potential turnover at the top of the ticket, Harris writes in her memoir 107 Days. The plan, spearheaded by Harris's brother-in-law, Tony West, aimed to ensure a smooth, swift transition if a crisis rendered the president unable to continue. West compiled a list of the first dozen calls to world and political leaders and laid out the timing and sequencing of Harris's initial public statements, as well as the rules that would govern a transition. "A year earlier, he started what he called the ‘Red File,’" Harris writes. "With a president in his eighties, he suggested, it would be malpractice on my part to be unprepared if, God forbid, something should happen."

The Red File reportedly grew in scope as pressure mounted for Biden to rethink his candidacy. West explained to Harris that in a traumatic moment, it would be prudent to have a plan for the first 24 to 48 hours so decision-making could be orderly rather than ad hoc under crisis conditions. Harris said she did not want to dwell on such a reality, and left the discussions to West. Nevertheless, West met with four members of her core team during a family weekend and laid out the hypothetical: "Let’s assume he’s dropping out tomorrow." Harris describes the moment as surreal, noting that Biden was traveling that week and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The public turn came on July 21, 2024, when Biden announced he would drop out, a development that Harris’s team had anticipated in some form but not the precise timing or sequencing. After a late-night phone call with Biden, Harris says West was the first person she spoke to on the other end of the line. In her account, West warned that mishandling the moment could damage Biden’s legacy, saying, "If this isn’t handled right, he will crap all over his legacy." Minutes later, Biden published a post on X announcing he was stepping aside, and about a half-hour later he endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The abrupt pivot thrust Harris into the front of a rapidly unfolding nomination process. West became one of Harris’s chosen committee of advisors, a group that helped steer pivotal decisions such as selecting a running mate and guiding debate prep as the campaign shifted gears. West later joined Harris’s broader team as a trusted strategist; he is now the senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Uber. During Barack Obama’s administration, he was twice confirmed by the Senate to serve in senior roles, including associate attorney general. He met Maya Harris—Kamala Harris’s sister—during law school, and they later married. Harris calls him a "political thinker" who has spent decades in campaigns, joking that he’s their "fifty-year-old teenage son" whom they look after as he stays with them.

Harris’s memoir also touches on the moment of truth surrounding Biden’s decision to run in 2024 and what happened in the aftermath. She writes that she did not anticipate wariness from within the party about Biden’s candidacy, but acknowledges there were regrets about how the situation was managed publicly. In an excerpt that drew attention from critics and supporters alike, Harris says the choice to allow Biden to proceed was reckless and admits she has regrets about her handling of the situation. The book’s publication comes as Democrats faced an unsettled convention and a reconfigured path to the nomination, with Harris ultimately taking center stage as the candidate who would formally accept the Democratic nomination.

The Red File framework, as described by Harris, functioned as a crisis manual designed to limit guesswork in the event of a sudden leadership vacancy. It encompassed immediate communications actions, the sequencing of public statements, and a transition timeline intended to preserve continuity of government and messaging. West’s role, both in the planning phase and in the ensuing campaign, is presented as a crucible for rapid decision-making under pressure. Harris stresses that she did not seek out the conversations herself, instead relying on West and a small, trusted circle to navigate a scenario that could not be predicted with certainty.

In broader context, the revelations underscore how modern campaigns increasingly prepare for risk management at the highest levels. The memoir details the emotional and strategic dynamics of a campaign season defined by abrupt pivots, rapid endorsements, and the emergence of a vice president who found herself at the center of a political maelstrom she hadn’t anticipated. Harris’s account of the Red File is complemented by a portrait of West as a conduit between campaign strategy and legal and governance considerations—an intersection that has grown more pronounced as candidates multiply their reliance on a tighter circle of trusted advisors.

The account also touches on the period following Biden’s decision and the subsequent amplification of Harris’s public profile. The White House and Biden’s team did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital on the book’s revelations. The memoir’s narrative, anchored by a blend of policy context and personal reflection, adds another layer to the evolving story of how the 2024 election unfolded in real time.

As Harris’s 107-day campaign path unfolded, the Red File framework served as a reminder that in high-stakes politics, preparation for potential contingencies can become as consequential as the events themselves. The memoir, through its intimate anecdotes and documented timeline, offers readers a window into the decision-making processes that accompany a leadership transition at the highest levels of government.