A Harris spokesperson said ‘there are no major safety concerns
Kamala Harris’ plane forced to return due to ‘technical issue’
A plane carrying Vice President Kamala Harris was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Sunday about 25 minutes after it had taken off for a trip to Guatemala.
.@VP boards AF2 en route to Guatemala City for her first OCONUS trip as VP. ✈️
— Opal Vadhan (@OpalVadhan46) June 6, 2021
Follow along our traveling staff for updates: @SymoneSanders46, @SabrinaSingh46, @PeterVelz46, @kchildsgraham46 & @RachelPalermo46. pic.twitter.com/AINBt8lJYN
“It is a technical issue. There are no major safety concerns,” Sanders said.
“I’m good, I’m good,” Harris told reporters after getting off the plane. “We all said a little prayer, but we’re good.”
Sanders told reporters the vice president was expected to depart in another plane within the hour.
KAMALA HARRIS’ MEXICO, GUATEMALA VISIT: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Harris’ two-day trip to Central America is part of her efforts to lead diplomatic talks to tackle what the administration describes as the “root causes” of the crisis at the southern border.
President Joe Biden appointed Harris in March to lead the diplomatic outreach, just as the administration was dealing with a massive surge in migration at the border.
Vice President Kamala Harris deplanes Air Force Two after a technical issue forced the aircraft to return and land at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Sunday, June 6, 2021, as she was en route to Guatemala City. (AP)
Harris has since come under criticism for not having visited the border. Saturday marked the 74th day that Harris has neither traveled to U.S. border communities nor held a news conference in connection with her duties as manager of the administration’s response to the border crisis.
In response to that criticism, Harris and her office have claimed that her focus was always on the “root causes” of the migration, not on conditions in U.S. border towns.
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But her critics have argued that by visiting U.S. border communities, Harris would gain important insights on how the migrant crisis has been affecting those areas – in terms of crime, business and strain on law enforcement personnel and resources.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.