Reports of a toxic work environment have plagued Vice President Kamala Harris since she took up the post less than a year ago and the recently announced exodus of her chief spokesperson has only prompted more questions.

The White House said this week that senior adviser to the vice president and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders will be departing the vice president’s office by year’s end. 

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“I love Symone, and I can’t wait to see what she will do next, and I know that it’s been a, you know, it’s been three years of a lot of jumping on and off planes and going around the country, and she works very hard, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next, and I mean that sincerely,” Harris told reporters this week.

But the vice president declined to comment when she was pressed on whether Sander’s departure was a part of a great internal shakeup.

“Well, I’ve told you how I feel about Symone. Next question,” Harris said. 

Fox News contributor Joe Concha on Saturday called Harris’ office a “sinking ship” during commentary on Sanders’ departure. 

“I guess when your boss’ approval ratings are at 28% and she’s polling even lower on her number one job, the U.S. southern border where migrants continue to flow over, two million passing over this year. I guess I would leave too, because this is a sinking ship,” said Concha.

Sanders’ decision to leave the vice president’s office not only raised eyebrows because she is the second high-level staffer to announce her bid farewell in less than a month, but because the spokesperson was previously harsh on vice president dropouts. 

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Following reports of low morale in Harris’ office this summer, Sanders defended the reportedly toxic workplace and called individuals who anonymously spoke to the press “cowards.”

“People are cowards to do this, this way,” she told Politico in July. “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 said.

“We have created a culture where people, if there is anything anyone would like to raise, there are avenues for them to do so,” she added. 

News that Ashley Etienne, Harris’ communications director, had resigned was also announced just one week before Thanksgiving. In addition, reports have surfaced this week that two other communications staffers – Peter Velz and Vince Evans – are also leaving Harris’ team, but those reports have not been confirmed by the White House.

White House officials maintain that the departures of several staffers does not signal that Harris is a bad boss. 

Press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House has a history of seeing departures by high-level staffers and described the work as “grueling” when she was pressed by reporters on the work environment in the vice president’s office.

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“Working on a presidential campaign…and working in the first year of a White House is exciting and rewarding, but it is also grueling and exhausting,” Psaki told reporters this week. “It’s all of those things at once.”

Fox News could not immediately reach the White House for comment. 

Actress Sarah Silverman took aim at MSNBC host Joy Reid for sounding the alarm on Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a proposal for a civilian–military force in his state. 

DeSantis introduced a plan to re-establish what’s called the Florida State Guard that can quickly aid the response to hurricanes and other emergencies. Several other states across the country including New York and California have similar civilian forces. 

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“We want to make sure that we have the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible. That will require us to have access and be able to use support in ways that are not encumbered by the federal government or don’t require federal government,” DeSantis said Thursday. “So I’m going to be recommending in the budget $3.5 million to re-establish the Florida State Guard. The Florida State Guard will act as a civilian volunteer force that will have the ability to assist the National Guard and state-specific emergencies.”

However, despite how common it is for states to create their own civilian military force, news outlets suggested DeSantis is tapping into authoritarian impulses. 

CNN’s homepage, for example, was dominated Friday morning with the headline, “DeSantis proposes new civilian military force,” something the liberal outlet stressed, “he would control.”

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control,” the CNN article began. “But in a nod to the growing tension between Republican states and the Biden administration over the National Guard, DeSantis also said this unit, called the Florida State Guard, would be ‘not encumbered by the federal government.’ He said this force would give him ‘the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible.’”

It wasn’t until the fourth paragraph that CNN acknowledged that Florida would be the 23rd state to establish such a force. 

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But that didn’t stop CNN’s story from going viral and was shared by several liberal media personalities including the “ReidOut” host. 

“So… y’all know this is fascisty bananas, right…?” Reid tweeted.

Silverman, an outspoken liberal, pushed back at the MSNBC star’s hyperbolic remark. 

“Please read the article before you post this stuff you’re a news outlet. The truth has to matter,” Silverman told Reid. 

Reid was far from the only one expressing sheer panic over DeSantis’ proposal. 

“WOW: GOP Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis wants to form a personal militia like the ‘political’ leaders in Iraq have. It would be a militia that only answers to him. This is the beginning of a ‘Red Army’ as the GOP prepares for war. Literally,” liberal SiriusXM radio host Dean Obeidallah reacted to the CNN report. 

“‘And that, children, was the genesis of Florida’s nuclear weapons program,'” Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson wrote. 

“So…fascism,” Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali tweeted. 

“What wannabe totalitarian, fascist, authoritarian dictators do,” MSNBC analyst Fernand Amandi similarly wrote. 

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“i can never figure out how much of this is serious and how much is desantis just trying to get a headline to use to trigger the libs,” New York Times opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie tweeted. 

Other outlets ran stories similar to CNN like Axios’ “DeSantis proposes Florida civilian military force that he’d control,” The Hill’s “DeSantis proposes civilian Florida State Guard military force he would control” and The Guardian’s “Ron DeSantis plans Florida paramilitary force outside federal control.” 

MSNBC’s “The ReidOut Blog” went even further attacking the GOP governor with a piece titled, “DeSantis wants Florida to establish its own military force. He can’t be trusted.” 

A spokesperson for Gov. DeSantis blasted the liberal media’s coverage of his proposal. 

“Today, ‘DeSantis’ was trending on Twitter alongside ‘Gestapo.’ This is a result of sensationalist false narratives pushed by irresponsible journalists,” DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told Fox News. “The fact is that 22 other states already have a State Guard, like proposed for Florida. Calling them ‘Gestapo’ is disrespectful, not only to the service members who assist states in emergencies, but also to victims of the actual Gestapo.”

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“Corporate media’s super-spreaders of disinformation are desperate to score cheap political points against Governor DeSantis, but they aren’t fooling Floridians. Florida is the freest state in the country, because we have a governor who fights to defend our constitutional rights – even in the face of an unprecedented onslaught from the Biden Administration. Protecting citizens’ freedom to live their lives and make their own choices, as Governor DeSantis does, is the opposite of dictatorship,” Pushaw added. 

Some of CNN anchor Chris Cuomo’s Republican foes had sharp words for the liberal host after he was indefinitely suspended this week by the scandal-plagued network.

Cuomo was reprimanded after evidence of his extensive involvement in his brother Andrew Cuomo’s political operations amid sexual harassment allegations was too much for CNN to ignore. The “Cuomo Prime Time” host used his media connections to investigate his brother’s accusers and other reporters delving into the former New York governor’s scandals.

“Just when you think CNN’s reputation couldn’t get any lower, it does,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

With more Republicans in the Donald Trump era making media criticism a cornerstone of their communications efforts, several prominent lawmakers had an opinion on Cuomo’s suspension, which will continue as CNN investigates his behavior.

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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who repeatedly clashed with former Gov. Cuomo while he was in office, said CNN should terminate the younger Cuomo immediately. She previously criticized CNN for allowing him to interview his brother multiple times without properly pressing him on his COVID-19 policies.

“There is a reason CNN’s viewership is at an embarrassing historic low,” she told Fox News Digital. “It’s because they have pushed propaganda, misinformation, and conspiracy theories like the Steele dossier, messaging from the Chinese Communist Party, and [Andrew] Cuomo’s coronation. Chris Cuomo needs to be fired immediately. CNN has zero credibility to salvage.” 

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After he “weaponized his media sources,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said, Cuomo had proved he wasn’t really a journalist.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., often contrasted in the media with Gov. Cuomo over their different approaches to the coronavirus in their large states, was critical of media elevation of him in 2020 he claimed was meant to damage him and then-President Trump.

“Chris Cuomo himself often had Andrew Cuomo on his CNN show to promote disastrous [New York]’s pandemic response and give Andrew Cuomo a platform to boost his unwarranted image as a crisis manager,” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw told Fox News Digital. 

In its announcement of Cuomo’s suspension, CNN appeared to suggest Cuomo had misled it over the depth of his role as an adviser and aide, while anchoring its most-watched show. It remains unclear who will conduct the review of Cuomo and what his ultimate fate will be at CNN.

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“The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense. The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions. When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second. However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”