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+## Kamala Harris' political views
+The **political positions of [Kamala Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris "Kamala Harris")** are reflected by her [United States Senate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate "United States Senate") voting record, public speeches, and interviews. Harris served as the junior senator from California from 2017 to 2021. On August 11, 2020, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden") [selected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Democratic_Party_vice_presidential_candidate_selection "2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection") her as his running mate in the [2020 United States presidential election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_U.S._presidential_election "2020 U.S. presidential election"), running against incumbent U.S. President [Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump "Donald Trump") and Vice President [Mike Pence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pence "Mike Pence"). With Biden's victory, Harris became vice president. She announced her candidacy in the [2024 United States presidential election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election "2024 United States presidential election") after Biden chose not to run for reelection on July 21, 2024.
+Harris's politics are widely seen as consistent with Biden's positions.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-1) In 2020, _[The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")_ called her a [pragmatic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik "Realpolitik") moderate, with policy positions that broadly mirror Biden's. Left-wing activists have often criticized Harris for her actions as a prosecutor, which have been called "right-wing".
+President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden") and former President [Barack Obama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama "Barack Obama") look on as Vice President Harris delivers remarks on the [Affordable Care Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act "Affordable Care Act"), April 2022.
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Abortion
+Harris supports [abortion rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_rights "Abortion rights") and is reportedly making reproductive health care central to her presidential campaign.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-8) She has been called "the Biden administration's voice for reproductive rights"[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-9) and "the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights."[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-10) Several abortion rights and women's organizations supported her after Biden withdrew from the race, with [Reproductive Freedom for All](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_Freedom_for_All "Reproductive Freedom for All") saying "there is nobody who has fought as hard \[as Harris\] for abortion rights and access" and [Emily's List](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily%27s_List "Emily's List") calling her "our most powerful advocate and messenger" on reproductive rights.
+As of 2020, Harris had a 100% rating from the [abortion rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_rights "Abortion rights") advocacy group [Planned Parenthood Action Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood_Action_Fund "Planned Parenthood Action Fund"), and a 0% rating from the [anti-abortion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abortion "Anti-abortion") group [National Right to Life Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Right_to_Life_Committee "National Right to Life Committee").[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-12) She was endorsed by Emily's List in 2015, during her senatorial campaign.[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Emily-13)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Affirmative action
+Harris opposed California's [ban on affirmative action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_209 "1996 California Proposition 209")[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-14) and filed an [amicus curiae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_curiae "Amicus curiae") brief in the [Supreme Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States "Supreme Court of the United States") case [Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_v._University_of_Texas_/(2016/) "Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)"), asking that the Court "reaffirm its decision that public colleges and universities may consider race as one factor in admissions decisions".
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Capital punishment
+Harris opposes the [death penalty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States "Capital punishment in the United States"), but has said that she would review each case individually.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-sfbg.com-17) Robert Dunham, executive director of the [Death Penalty Information Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Penalty_Information_Center "Death Penalty Information Center"), said she has "a mixed record".[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-18)
+As the district attorney of San Francisco, Harris opposed the death penalty, refusing to request it for a man charged with the murder of a police officer. This decision was controversial and criticized by Senator [Dianne Feinstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein "Dianne Feinstein").[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Politico-19) As California attorney general, Harris was criticized for appealing a federal court ruling that might have resulted in the abolition of the death penalty in the state[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-20)[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-21) for not supporting two ballot initiatives that would have banned the death penalty there.[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Politico-19) But in July 2019, as U.S. Attorney General [William Barr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barr "William Barr") announced the [federal government's resumption of capital punishment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_by_the_United_States_federal_government "Capital punishment by the United States federal government") after nearly 20 years without executing a federal inmate, [\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-22) Harris called the move "misguided", "immoral", and "a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars".[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-23) As a senator, she also co-sponsored a 2019 bill that would have banned the death penalty.[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-24)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Criminal justice
+In December 2018, Harris voted for the [First Step Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Step_Act "First Step Act"), legislation aimed at reducing recidivism rates among federal prisoners by expanding job training and other programs, in addition to forming an expansion of early release programs and modifications on sentencing laws such as [mandatory minimum sentences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_minimum_sentence "Mandatory minimum sentence") for nonviolent drug offenders, "to more equitably punish drug offenders".[\[25\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-25)
+In March 2020, Harris was one of 15 senators to sign a letter to the [Federal Bureau of Prisons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Prisons "Federal Bureau of Prisons") and private prison companies [GEO Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEO_Group "GEO Group"), [CoreCivic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoreCivic "CoreCivic"), and [Management and Training Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_and_Training_Corporation "Management and Training Corporation") requesting information on their strategy to address the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States "COVID-19 pandemic in the United States"), asserting that it was "critical that \[you\] have a plan to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus to incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, along with their families and loved ones, and provide treatment to incarcerated individuals and staff who become infected."
+In June 2020, after a campaign by a coalition of community groups, including [Black Lives Matter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter "Black Lives Matter"), Los Angeles Mayor [Eric Garcetti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Garcetti "Eric Garcetti") announced [Los Angeles Police Department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Police_Department "Los Angeles Police Department") budget cuts of $150 million.[\[27\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-LAPD-27) Harris supported the decision:[\[28\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Garcetti-28)[\[29\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-29)
+> We've got to reexamine what we're doing with American taxpayer dollars and ask the question "Are we getting the right return on our investment? Are we actually creating healthy and safe communities?" That's a legitimate conversation and it requires a really critical evaluation. I applaud Eric Garcetti for doing what he's done.
+In 2020 Harris tweeted in support of donations to the [Minnesota Freedom Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Freedom_Fund "Minnesota Freedom Fund"), a [bail fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_fund "Bail fund") assisting those arrested in the [George Floyd protests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests "George Floyd protests"), though she did not donate to the fund herself
+President Biden and Vice President Harris delivered remarks at the Capitol on the anniversary of the [United States Capitol attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_attack "2021 United States Capitol attack"), January 6, 2022.
+Harris's criminal justice record has been seen as mixed, with critics calling her "tough on crime" despite her calling herself a "progressive prosecutor", citing her reluctance to release prisoners and anti-truancy policies. In her 2009 book, Harris criticized liberals for what she called "biases against law enforcement".[\[31\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-31)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Drugs
+Harris did not initially support [legalization of recreational cannabis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalization_of_non-medical_cannabis_in_the_United_States "Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States"), but later moved to support it.[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Herndon_2019-32) In 2010, while San Francisco District Attorney and campaigning for Attorney General of California, she opposed [Proposition 19](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_California_Proposition_19 "2010 California Proposition 19"), the first attempt to legalize recreational cannabis in California, arguing that selling drugs harms communities.[\[33\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-33)[\[34\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-34) In 2015, she called for an end to the federal prohibition of [medical cannabis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis_in_the_United_States "Medical cannabis in the United States").[\[35\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-35)
+In April 2018, after reports that the Justice Department was blocking the [Drug Enforcement Administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Enforcement_Administration "Drug Enforcement Administration") from taking action on over two dozen requests to grow cannabis for use in research, Harris and Senator [Orrin Hatch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrin_Hatch "Orrin Hatch") sent a letter to Attorney General [Jeff Sessions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Sessions "Jeff Sessions") asserting the necessity of cannabis research "for evidence-based decision making" and "to resolve critical questions of public health and safety, such as learning the impacts of marijuana on developing brains and formulating methods to test marijuana impairment in drivers".[\[36\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-36)
+In May 2018, Harris co-sponsored the [Marijuana Justice Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana_Justice_Act "Marijuana Justice Act") (originally introduced by Senator [Cory Booker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker "Cory Booker") in August 2017), which, if passed, would have legalized cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the [Controlled Substance Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substance_Act "Controlled Substance Act").[\[37\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-37) The bill would have also required federal courts to automatically expunge earlier federal marijuana convictions related to use or possession and would have penalized states that enforce cannabis laws disproportionately against minority or low-income people.[\[38\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-38)[\[39\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-39) In February 2019, as she reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, Harris asserted that the U.S. had not equally applied cannabis laws and "criminalized marijuana use in a way that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of young men of color".[\[40\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-40)
+Harris leads a roundtable discussion on cannabis policy reform at the White House in March 2024.
+In July 2019, Harris and Representative [Jerry Nadler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Nadler "Jerry Nadler") introduced the [Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MORE_Act "MORE Act"), which, like the 2018 bill, would have legalized cannabis on the federal level and expunged low-level cannabis possession convictions, and would have authorized grants to members of communities of color as part of an effort to reverse decades of damage cannabis criminalization had inflicted on that community.[\[41\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-41) In a statement, Harris cited the need to regulate cannabis and ensure "everyone—especially communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the [War on Drugs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs "War on Drugs")—has a real opportunity to participate in this growing industry."
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Education
+Harris has argued for treating "habitual and chronic [truancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truancy "Truancy")" among children in elementary school as a crime committed by the parents of truant children. She argues that there is a direct connection between habitual truancy in elementary school and crime later in life. In 2010, her California attorney general campaign website said she had been endorsed by the California Federation of Teachers.
+Harris supports [busing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desegregation_busing "Desegregation busing") to desegregate public schools, saying, "the schools of America are as segregated, if not more segregated, today than when I was in elementary school."[\[47\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-47) She views busing as an option to be considered by school districts, rather than the federal government's responsibility.[\[48\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-48)
+Harris supports the creation of a government funding program to pay tuition and fees for students attending public colleges and universities for dependent students whose parents have income of $125,000 or less and independent students with incomes of $125,000 or less. The program would be funded by a 0.5% fee per stock trade on [Wall Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street "Wall Street") firms.[\[49\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-49) Harris proposed having up to $20,000 in student debt forgiven for [Pell Grant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pell_Grant "Pell Grant") recipients who start a business and operate it for at least three years in a disadvantaged community. Eligible students would also have loans deferred interest-free for a business formation period of up to three years.[\[50\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-50)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Election security
+On December 21, 2017, Harris was one of six senators to introduce the "Secure Elections Act", legislation authorizing [block grants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_grants "Block grants") for states that would update outdated voting technology. The bill would have also created a program for an independent panel of experts to develop [cybersecurity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersecurity "Cybersecurity") guidelines for election systems that states could adopt if they choose, and offered states resources to implement the recommendations.[\[51\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-51)
+In March 2019, Harris told [Jimmy Kimmel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Kimmel "Jimmy Kimmel") that she was open to discussing abolishing the [Electoral College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College "United States Electoral College") given that there was "no question that the [popular vote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_vote_/(representative_democracy/) "Popular vote (representative democracy)") has been diminished in terms of making the final decision about who's the president of the United States and we need to deal with that."[\[52\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-52)
+In May 2019, Harris co-sponsored the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act, legislation that would have granted the [United States Department of Homeland Security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security "United States Department of Homeland Security") the authority "to set minimum cybersecurity standards for U.S. voting machines, authorized a one-time $500 million grant program for states to buy ballot-scanning machines to count paper ballots, and required states to conduct risk-limiting audits of all federal elections in order to detect any cyber hacks".[\[53\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-53)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Guns
+Harris has consistently supported gun control and has received an "F" rating from the pro-gun [NRA Political Victory Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NRA_Political_Victory_Fund "NRA Political Victory Fund").[\[54\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-54)[\[55\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-NRARating17-55) As district attorney in San Francisco, Harris, along with other district attorneys, filed an [amicus brief](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_brief "Amicus brief") in _[District of Columbia v. Heller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller "District of Columbia v. Heller")_ arguing the Washington, D.C. gun law at issue did not violate the [Second Amendment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution "Second Amendment to the United States Constitution").[\[56\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-56)
+During her 2016 campaign for Senate, Harris was endorsed by the [Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Campaign_to_Prevent_Gun_Violence "Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence").[\[57\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-PanzarWillon-57) Former U.S. Representative [Gabby Giffords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabby_Giffords "Gabby Giffords"), founder of the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention, endorsed her in 2016 and 2024, saying at an event on July 25, 2024, that the upcoming election was a "choice between Harris, who would sign a ban on assault weapons, and more gun violence under Trump, who gun-rights groups back."[\[58\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-58) In response to the [2017 Las Vegas shooting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting "2017 Las Vegas shooting"), Harris supported the call for more [gun control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_control "Gun control"). Saying [thoughts and prayers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughts_and_prayers "Thoughts and prayers") are an inadequate answer to the shooting, she said, "we must also commit ourselves to action. Another moment of silence won't suffice.
+In November 2017, Harris co-sponsored the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act, a bill that would have established a charge of Domestic Violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and stipulated that convictions would have to be reported within three days to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from buying firearms in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers can do so.[\[60\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-60)
+In January 2019, Harris joined [Bernie Sanders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders "Bernie Sanders") and 38 other Senate Democrats in introducing the Background Check Expansion Act, a bill that would have required background checks for either the sale or transfer of all firearms, including unlicensed sellers. Exceptions to the bill's background check requirement included transfers between members of law enforcement, loaning firearms for either hunting or sporting events on a temporary basis, providing firearms as gifts to members of one's immediate family, firearms transferred as part of an inheritance, or giving a firearm to another person temporarily for immediate self-defense.[\[61\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-61)
+In May 2019, Harris was one of ten Democratic senators to sign a letter to Facebook chairman and CEO [Mark Zuckerberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg "Mark Zuckerberg") about social media users being "able to facilitate firearm transactions by directing potential buyers to other methods of communication" despite [Instagram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram "Instagram") banning gun sales on its platforms, demanding to know how Facebook governs its own ban on gun sales and holds violators of its policy accountable.[\[62\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-62)
+During a 2019 appearance on _[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tonight_Show_Starring_Jimmy_Fallon "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon")_, Harris explained her support for a mandatory buyback on [assault weapons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapons "Assault weapons"): "I do believe that we need to do buybacks, and I'll tell you why... First of all, let's be clear about what assault weapons are. They have been designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. They are weapons of war with no place on the streets of a civil society."[\[63\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-63) CNN reported in May 2019 that "Harris' new proposal "would ban [AR-15](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15 "AR-15")\-style assault weapon imports".[\[64\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-64)
+On August 14, 2019, Harris unveiled a plan to address [domestic terrorism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_terrorism "Domestic terrorism") while prioritizing increasing the difficulty for suspects to obtain or keep firearms by forming domestic terrorism prevention orders meant to empower law enforcement officers and family members with the ability to petition federal courts for a temporary restriction on a person's access to firearms if they "exhibit clear evidence of dangerousness". Harris said "loaded guns should not be a few clicks away for any domestic terrorist with a laptop or smartphone" and cited the "need to take action to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and stop violent, hate-fueled attacks before they happen".[\[65\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-65)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Immigration
+Vice President Harris looks on to President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden") during a meeting on [immigration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration "Immigration") in the [State Dining Room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Dining_Room "State Dining Room") of the [White House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House "White House"), March 2021.
+As a senator, Harris was an outspoken critic of the [Trump administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Donald_Trump "Presidency of Donald Trump")'s treatment of people, especially pregnant women, trying to immigrate to the U.S. or seeking asylum in the U.S. In April 2018, she was one of five senators to send a letter to [Thomas Homan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Homan "Thomas Homan"), acting director of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement "Immigration and Customs Enforcement") (ICE), on standards the agency used to determine how to detain a pregnant woman, requesting that pregnant women not be held in custody except under extraordinary standards after reports "that ICE has failed to provide critical medical care to pregnant women in immigration detention – resulting in miscarriages and other negative health outcomes."[\[66\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-66) In July 2018, Harris was one of 22 senators to sponsor the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which would have prohibited immigration officers from detaining pregnant women in most circumstances and improved conditions of care for people in custody.[\[67\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-67) Harris and others wrote a letter to ICE and Customs and Border Enforcement asserting that "the civil detention of an expectant mother for potential immigration offenses is never justified" due to the "absence of compelling evidence that the detention of a pregnant woman is necessary because she is a threat to herself or others, or is a threat to public safety or national security." The senators requested that the CBP enact measures to ensure "timely and appropriate treatment" for pregnant women in custody and that both agencies provide information on how available facilities and doctors are to pregnant immigrants and complete data on the number of those in custody.[\[68\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-68) She and other Democrats wrote a letter to [United States Secretary of Homeland Security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Homeland_Security "United States Secretary of Homeland Security") [Kirstjen Nielsen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirstjen_Nielsen "Kirstjen Nielsen") demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action to reunite 539 migrant children with their families, saying that each day of inaction intensified "trauma that this administration has needlessly caused for children and their families seeking humanitarian protection."[\[69\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-69) Harris, [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Gillibrand "Kirsten Gillibrand"), and [Amy Klobuchar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar "Amy Klobuchar") sent a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement saying that the agency "should be prioritizing reunification of every child as soon as possible, but instead, it has been responsible for policies that are forcing longer stays in government custody for children", and that it was mandatory that the office "ensure that the custody and processing of \[unaccompanied migrant children\] is meeting the minimum standards required by domestic and international law.
+Harris co-sponsored the Coronavirus Immigrant Families Protection Act, legislation that would have provided dedicated funding for the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention") in its efforts for public outreach in multiple languages to hard-to-reach populations to ensure vulnerable communities are granted access to COVID-19 relief measures and public health information. The bill would have also modified immigration policies deterring immigrants from receiving COVID-related medical care.[\[71\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-71)
+Harris, Senator [Dianne Feinstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein "Dianne Feinstein"), and Representative [Juan Vargas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Vargas "Juan Vargas") sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General requesting an investigation into the way detainees are treated at the [Otay Mesa Detention Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otay_Mesa_Detention_Center "Otay Mesa Detention Center") after reports that they were required to sign contracts to receive masks, writing that they were "in a public health crisis, and it is our duty to protect the health and safety of every individual, especially those who are in custody and unable to take precautions on their own".
+Harris has expressed support for the [DREAM Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act "DREAM Act")[\[73\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-73) and said that as president she would push for comprehensive immigration reform with an immigration plan that includes renewal and expansion of DACA, allowing undocumented parents, siblings, and spouses of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to seek deportation relief, and using executive actions to undo technical barriers that prevent many Dreamers from receiving legal status by applying for a green card.
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Immigration
+In response to November 2019 [NBC News](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_News "NBC News") reports that between 2012 and 2017 ICE had put thousands of immigrants in [solitary confinement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitary_confinement "Solitary confinement"), some of whom had not violated any detention center rules, Harris, [Cory Booker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker "Cory Booker"), and [Dick Durbin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Durbin "Dick Durbin") introduced legislation to prevent ICE from overusing solitary confinement. Harris said the bill required "ICE to comply with specific safeguards to ensure individuals are treated more humanely and ICE is not adding to the trauma many of these people have already been subjected to.
+[BTS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTS "BTS") met with Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman [Doug Emhoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Emhoff "Doug Emhoff") to discuss the importance of standing up against anti-Asian [hate crimes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crimes "Hate crimes") and [discrimination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination "Discrimination"), May 2022.
+Several senators including Harris signed a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary [James Mattis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mattis "James Mattis") about "the overt politicization of the military" with the Trump administration's deployment of 5,800 troops to the [U.S.–Mexico border](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.%E2%80%93Mexico_border "U.S.–Mexico border") and requesting a briefing and written justification from the U.S. Northern Command for troop deployment, while urging Mattis to "curb the unprecedented escalation of DOD involvement in immigration enforcement.
+In January 2019, Harris was one of 20 senators to sponsor the Dreamer Confidentiality Act, a bill that would have banned the [Department of Homeland Security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Homeland_Security "Department of Homeland Security") (DHS) from passing information collected on DACA recipients to ICE, CBP, the [Department of Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Justice "Department of Justice"), or any other law enforcement agency except in cases of fraudulent claims, national security issues, or non-immigration-related felonies.
+In June that year, after the [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development "U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development")'s confirmed that DACA recipients did not meet eligibility for federal backed loans, Harris and 11 other senators introduced The Home Ownership Dreamers Act, legislation that would have prevented the Federal Housing Administration, [Fannie Mae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Mae "Fannie Mae"), [Freddie Mac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mac "Freddie Mac"), or the Agriculture Department from denying mortgages solely on the basis of an applicant's immigration status.[\[78\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-78)
+Harris and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would have mandated that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before engaging in enforcement actions at sensitive locations except under special circumstances and that agents receive annual training in addition to being required to annually report enforcement actions in those locations.
+In August 2019, after the Trump administration released a new regulation imposing the possibility that any green card and visa applicants could be turned down if they had low incomes or little education or had used benefits such as [food stamps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program") and housing vouchers, Harris called the regulation part of Trump's ongoing campaign "to vilify a whole group of people" and cited Trump's sending of service members to the southern border and building a border wall as part of his goal to distract "from the fact that he has betrayed so many people and has actually done very little that has been productive in the best interest of American families.
+In July 2018, the Trump administration falsely accused Harris of "supporting the animals of [MS-13](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13 "MS-13")."[\[81\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-:7-81)[\[82\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-:8-82) She responded, "As a career prosecutor, I actually went after gangs and transnational criminal organizations. That's being a leader on public safety. What is not is ripping babies from their mothers.
+On October 25, 2017, Harris said she would not support a spending bill until Congress addressed the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals") (DACA) program in a way that clarified "what we are going to do to protect and take care of our DACA young people in this country."[\[83\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-83) She did not support a February 2018 proposal by some Democrats to provide Trump with $25 billion in funding for a [border wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_wall "Trump wall") in exchange for giving Dreamers a pathway to citizenship.
+In January 2018, Harris and three other Democratic senators co-sponsored the Border and Port Security Act, legislation that would have mandated that CBP "hire, train, and assign at least 500 officers per year until the number of needed positions the model identifies is filled" and required the CMP commissioner to determine potential equipment and infrastructure improvements that could be used for ports of entry.[\[85\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-85)
+Vice President Harris reviews notes in the [West Wing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Wing "West Wing") of the [White House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House "White House"), April 2021.
+In 2006, as San Francisco's district attorney, Harris expressed support for the city's [sanctuary city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_city "Sanctuary city") policy of not inquiring about immigration status in the process of a criminal investigation, saying it allowed people to come forward as witnesses to crimes when they might not have otherwise. She argued it is important that immigrants be able to talk with law enforcement without fear.
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Internet privacy and net neutrality
+In September 2017, Harris was one of nine senators to sign a letter to [Federal Communications Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission "Federal Communications Commission") chairman [Ajit Pai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai "Ajit Pai") that charged the FCC with failing "to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on the tens of thousands of filed complaints that directly shed light on proposed changes to existing [net neutrality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality "Net neutrality") protections."[\[88\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-88)
+In March 2018, Harris was one of 10 senators to sign a letter spearheaded by [Jeff Merkley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Merkley "Jeff Merkley") lambasting Pai's proposal to curb the scope of benefits from the Lifeline program during a period when roughly 6.5 million people in poor communities relied on Lifeline to receive access to high-speed Internet, saying it was Pai's "obligation to the American public, as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to improve the Lifeline program and ensure that more Americans can afford access, and have means of access, to broadband and phone service." The senators also advocated insuring that "Lifeline reaches more Americans in need of access to communication services."[\[89\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-89)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### LGBT rights
+As California Attorney General, Harris refused to defend [Prop 8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_California_Proposition_8 "2008 California Proposition 8") in federal court, and after Prop 8 was struck down in [Hollingsworth v. Perry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollingsworth_v._Perry "Hollingsworth v. Perry") in 2013, she called the Los Angeles County Clerk's office, ordering it to "start the marriages immediately". She later officiated at the wedding of the plaintiffs in the case, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, at [San Francisco City Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_City_Hall "San Francisco City Hall").[\[90\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-90)
+As a member of the U.S. Senate, Harris co-sponsored the [Equality Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_Act_/(United_States/) "Equality Act (United States)").[\[91\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-:10-91)
+In July 2018, Harris led her colleagues in introducing the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2018, a nationwide bill that would curtail the effectiveness of the so-called [gay and trans panic defenses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_panic_defense "Gay panic defense"), an issue she pioneered as District Attorney of San Francisco.[\[92\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-92)
+Harris becomes the first sitting vice president to attend a [Pride Parade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_Parade "Pride Parade"), June 2021.
+In October 2019, Harris participated in a CNN/Human Rights Campaign town hall on LGBTQ rights and pledged her support for "all of the folks who are fighting for equality" in cases that would determine whether gay and transgender people are protected under laws banning federal workplace discrimination.[\[93\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-93) Harris drew attention to the epidemic of [hate crimes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime "Hate crime") committed against Black [trans women](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_women "Trans women") (at the time 20 killed that year), noting that LGBTQ people of color are doubly discriminated against.[\[94\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-94)[\[95\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-95)
+Harris has since been criticized for a 2015 federal court motion she filed to block gender-affirming medical care for a transgender inmate serving in a California state prison while she was California Attorney General, after the [Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Ninth_Circuit "United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit") had ruled that denying that treatment violated the [8th Amendment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution "Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution")'s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.[\[96\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-96)[\[97\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-97)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Sex workers
+As district attorney in 2008, Harris opposed Prop K, a San Francisco ballot measure to [decriminalize sex work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decriminalizing_sex_work "Decriminalizing sex work"), calling it "completely ridiculous".[\[98\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-98)[\[99\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-99) As attorney general, she led the charge against [Backpage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpage "Backpage"), an online classifieds service that had a subsection for escorts.[\[100\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Vice20161011-100) In 2016, Harris filed charges against the site,[\[101\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-RS2020814-101) leading to the arrest of the CEO and the removal of its adult section.[\[102\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-102) Harris also co-sponsored the [Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Enabling_Sex_Traffickers_Act "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act") (SESTA), an anti-[sex trafficking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_trafficking "Sex trafficking") law, which holds websites responsible for third-party ads.
+In a 2019 interview with _[The Root](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Root_/(magazine/) "The Root (magazine)")_, Harris said her position on sex work had relaxed. Asked whether she thought it should be decriminalized, she said: "I think so. I do." She then said she had prioritized arresting [pimps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimps "Pimps") and johns over sex workers.[\[103\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-103)[\[104\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-j069-104) According to _[Rolling Stone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone "Rolling Stone")_, her comments were viewed as support for partial decriminalization, akin to the [Nordic approach to sex work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model_approach_to_prostitution "Nordic model approach to prostitution").[\[101\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-RS2020814-101)
+Vice President Kamala Harris listens during a meeting with Black women leaders on Voting Rights, July 2021.
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Voting rights
+Harris attributed the 2018 gubernatorial losses of [Stacey Abrams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacey_Abrams "Stacey Abrams") and [Andrew Gillum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum "Andrew Gillum"), in [Georgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Georgia_gubernatorial_election "2018 Georgia gubernatorial election") and [Florida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Florida_gubernatorial_election "2018 Florida gubernatorial election") respectively, to [voter suppression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression "Voter suppression").[\[105\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-105)
+In 2020, Harris and Representatives [Jim Clyburn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Clyburn "Jim Clyburn") and [Marcia Fudge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Fudge "Marcia Fudge") introduced the Vote Safe Act, which proposed uniform national standards for all registered voters to use mail-in absentee voting, a minimum early in-person voting period of 20 days, and $5 billion in funding and grants for states to increase the safety and availability of voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.[\[106\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-106) The [ACLU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACLU "ACLU") endorsed the bill.[\[107\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-107)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+## Economic issues
+Harris has said "I believe in [capitalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism "Capitalism"), but capitalism is not working for most people" and that she is not a socialist but insists that more needs to be done to ensure equal opportunities, particularly for working people
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Campaign finance
+Harris's 2020 presidential campaign disavowed most corporate donations and committed to rejecting money from corporate political action committees, instead relying on individual donors.[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Herndon_2019-32)[\[111\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Reuters_2019-111)[\[112\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-112)
+> Our campaign is not taking a dime from corporate [PACs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee "Political action committee") or [lobbyists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbyists "Lobbyists")—and that was a very deliberate choice.[\[113\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Accepted-113)
+Harris, along with candidates [Cory Booker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker "Cory Booker"), [Julian Castro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Castro "Julian Castro"), [Tulsi Gabbard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard "Tulsi Gabbard"), [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Gillibrand "Kirsten Gillibrand"), [Amy Klobuchar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Klobuchar "Amy Klobuchar"), [Bernie Sanders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders "Bernie Sanders"), [Elizabeth Warren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren "Elizabeth Warren"), and [Marianne Williamson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson "Marianne Williamson"), explicitly discouraged single-candidate super PACs from operating on her behalf, though she cannot prevent them from doing so.[\[114\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-114)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### COVID-19
+In April 2020, Harris, Representative [Adam Schiff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Schiff "Adam Schiff"), and Senator [Dianne Feinstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein "Dianne Feinstein") unveiled legislation to establish a bipartisan commission to review the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to the [9/11 Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Commission "9/11 Commission") and the [Pearl Harbor Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberts_Commissions "Roberts Commissions").[\[115\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-115) Harris and her colleagues also sent a letter to the Trump administration's health officials demanding a consistent protocol for counting the number of casualties the virus caused to prevent deflation and underreporting of deaths.[\[116\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-116)
+Harris announced that she would introduce legislation to create a task force that would address racial disparities, the COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force Act. Under the law, the [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services") would be empowered to make recommendations about effective distribution of resources to communities suffering from racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death rates. Representative [Robin Kelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Kelly "Robin Kelly") introduced a companion bill in the House.[\[117\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-117)
+Harris and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a bill to expand by 30% access to the [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program"), commonly known as food stamps.[\[118\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-118) Harris and Republican Senator [Tim Scott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Scott "Tim Scott") also introduced a bipartisan bill, with the support of chef [José Andrés](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Andr%C3%A9s "José Andrés"), to expand eligibility for assistance from [FEMA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA "FEMA"), allowing state and local governments to partner with restaurants and nonprofit groups to feed those in need during the pandemic.[\[119\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-119) Harris also introduced a bill with Senators Bernie Sanders and [Ed Markey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Markey "Ed Markey") to give Americans a monthly payment of $2,000 during the pandemic, with payments to every U.S. resident earning up to $120,000 as the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7%.[\[120\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-120)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Disaster relief
+In October 2017, after [Hurricane Maria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria "Hurricane Maria") and [Hurricane Irma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irma "Hurricane Irma"), Harris signed a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security [Elaine Duke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Duke "Elaine Duke") urging her "to provide all necessary resources to confirm that storm-related deaths are being counted correctly" given that President Trump seemed "to be using the number of fatalities to determine the quality of the disaster response."[\[121\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-121)
+In August 2018, Harris was one of eight senators to sign a letter to the [Federal Emergency Management Agency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency "Federal Emergency Management Agency") charging the agency with not assisting displaced homeowners in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of [Hurricane Maria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Maria "Hurricane Maria") under the [Individuals and Households program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_and_Households_program "Individuals and Households program") (IHP) at "alarming rates."[\[122\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-122)
+Harris tours Puerto Rico in 2017.
+In February 2019, Harris introduced the Protecting Disaster Relief Funds Act, a bill that would prevent Trump from taking funds allocated to the Departments of [Homeland Security](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Homeland_Security "Department of Homeland Security") and [Housing and Urban Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development "Department of Housing and Urban Development") or the [Army Corps of Engineers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Corps_of_Engineers "United States Army Corps of Engineers") for disaster relief and using the funds in construction of physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. She said the bill would "ensure that funds intended for victims of natural disasters do not go towards a wall that Congress won't fund and people on the border don't even want" and "stand up for Congress's power of the purse and help California families affected by recent natural disasters begin the process of recovery."[\[123\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-123)
+In March 2019, Harris was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to congressional leaders urging them to "bring legislation providing disaster supplemental appropriations to your respective floors for consideration immediately" after noting that the previous year had seen 124 federal disaster declarations approved for states, territories, and tribal nations across the U.S.[\[124\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-124)
+In April 2019, Harris announced her opposition to a Republican disaster aid package, charging the Trump administration with playing "politics with disaster funding by failing to fully assist California wildfire victims and the millions of American citizens still struggling in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Survivors of these disasters are hurting, and they deserve immediate and meaningful support—this bill does not do that."[\[125\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-125)
+In November 2019, [wildfire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire "Wildfire") conditions forced California power companies to begin presumptive [public safety power shutoff events](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_California_power_shutoffs "2019 California power shutoffs"). Nearly 800,000 customers were left without electricity for days. People in areas particularly vulnerable to the fires were left with limited means of getting information and supplies. Harris introduced the Wildfire Defense Act, a bill that would invest $1 billion to establish guidelines to create community wildfire defense plans, provide grants of up to $10 million to implement such plans, and establish best practices to protect communities from wildfires.[\[126\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-126)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Consumer protection
+On April 10, 2020, Harris and Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act, a bill that would empower the [Federal Trade Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission "Federal Trade Commission") to enforce a ban on excessive price increases of consumer goods amid national emergencies and specifically consider any price increase above 10% to be price gouging during such a declaration.[\[127\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-127)
+In April 2020, Harris, Senator [Sherrod Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherrod_Brown "Sherrod Brown"), and Representatives [Ayanna Pressley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayanna_Pressley "Ayanna Pressley") and [Gregory Meeks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Meeks "Gregory Meeks") sent the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department a letter requesting that the agencies move to ensure minority-owned businesses remain under the Paycheck Protection Program and calling for the Trump administration to revise guidance on the program to reaffirm that lending institutions comply with fair lending laws and mandate that they report the demographics of program lending.[\[128\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-128)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Free trade
+In 2016, Harris opposed the [Trans-Pacific Partnership](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership "Trans-Pacific Partnership"), saying the proposed trade deal did not do enough to protect workers and the environment, and later spoke against [tariffs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariffs "Tariffs") imposed by the Trump administration.[\[129\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-129)
+In May 2019, Harris said she would not have voted for the [North American Free Trade Agreement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement "North American Free Trade Agreement") (NAFTA) because "we can do a better job to protect American workers" and called for the U.S. to do "a better job in terms of thinking about the priorities that should be more apparent now than perhaps they were then, which are issues like the climate crisis and what we need to build into these trade agreements."[\[130\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-130)
+In September 2019, Harris declared she was not a "[protectionist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectionism "Protectionism") Democrat."[\[131\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-131) In January 2020, she was one of ten senators to vote against the [USMCA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USMCA "USMCA"),[\[132\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-132) saying, "by not confronting climate change, the USMCA fails to meet the crises of the moment."[\[133\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-133)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Healthcare
+Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a virtual Vaccine Month of Action in June 2021.
+On August 30, 2017, Harris announced at a town hall in Oakland that she would co-sponsor Senator [Bernie Sanders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders "Bernie Sanders")'s "[Medicare for All](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_for_All "Medicare for All")" bill, supporting [single-payer healthcare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_healthcare "Single-payer healthcare").[\[134\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-134)[\[32\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Herndon_2019-32)
+In April 2018, Harris was one of ten senators to sponsor the Choose Medicare Act, an expanded public option for health insurance that also increased Affordable Care Act subsidies and rendered people with higher income levels eligible for its assistance.[\[135\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-135)
+In August 2018, Harris introduced the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (CARE) Act, a bill designed to reduce racial disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity. The risk of death from pregnancy-related causes for African American women is three to four times higher than for white women, and Black women are twice as likely to have life-threatening pregnancy complications. She was joined by 13 of her Democratic colleagues.[\[136\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-136)
+In December 2018, Harris was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials [Alex Azar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Azar "Alex Azar"), [Seema Verma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seema_Verma "Seema Verma"), and [Steve Mnuchin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mnuchin "Steve Mnuchin") arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the [Affordable Care Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act "Affordable Care Act") to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers, while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions." The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress."[\[137\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-137)
+In February 2019, Harris and 22 other Democratic senators introduced the State Public Option Act, a bill that would authorize states to form a [Medicaid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid "Medicaid") buy-in program for all residents and thereby allow them to buy into a state-driven Medicaid health insurance plan if they wished. [Brian Schatz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schatz "Brian Schatz"), a co-sponsor, said the legislation would "unlock each state's Medicaid program to anyone who wants it, giving people a high-quality, low-cost public health insurance option" and that its goal was "to make sure that every single American has comprehensive health care coverage."[\[138\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-138)
+In June 2019, Harris was one of eight senators to co-sponsor the Territories Health Equity Act of 2019, legislation that would remove the cap on annual federal Medicaid funding, increase the federal matching rate for Medicaid expenditures of territories, and provide more funds for prescription drug coverage to low-income seniors in an attempt to equalize funding for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands with that of U.S. states.[\[139\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-139)
+On July 29, 2019, Harris unveiled a health plan that would expand coverage while preserving a role for private insurance companies. It called for transitioning to a Medicare for All system over 10 years and automatically placing infants and the uninsured into the system while others could buy into the plan.[\[140\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-140) Some Democrats and Republicans criticized the plan.[\[141\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-141)
+In November 2019, during a _[Morning Joe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Joe "Morning Joe")_ interview, Harris declined to specify the inconsistencies in Elizabeth Warren's Medicare For All plan, saying that her own plan was superior and that she was "not going to take away people's choice about having a public or a private plan. I am going to give people a transition that allows folks like [organized labor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organized_labor "Organized labor") to actually renegotiate their contract."[\[142\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-142)
+In April 2020, Harris was one of 28 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the [United States Department of Health and Human Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Health_and_Human_Services "United States Department of Health and Human Services") urging it to reopen the Affordable Care Act's online marketplace to help uninsured Americans get health insurance amid the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic "COVID-19 pandemic"), opining that opening the marketplace "would provide an easy pathway to coverage for those who under previous circumstances may have decided to forego health insurance or purchase a substandard, junk insurance plan, but now in a global pandemic are in vital need of comprehensive coverage to protect themselves, their families, and our broader community."[\[143\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-143)
+In April 2020, Harris was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to [United States Secretary of Health and Human Services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Health_and_Human_Services "United States Secretary of Health and Human Services") [Alex Azar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Azar "Alex Azar") regarding the removal of [Rick Bright](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Bright "Rick Bright") as director of the Research and Development Authority. The senators said it was of "the utmost importance that there be stable leadership within HHS and that decisions are driven by science and the public health" during the pandemic and warned that the U.S. could not have a steady response if its leadership was "being constantly shuffled and if experts are being constrained or removed when they insist on following the science and sticking to the facts."[\[144\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-144)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Housing
+In April 2019, Harris was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the [United States Department of Housing and Urban Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development "United States Department of Housing and Urban Development")'s Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators wrote that they hoped the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.[\[145\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-145)
+In November 2019, Harris and Representative [Maxine Waters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxine_Waters "Maxine Waters") introduced the Housing is Infrastructure Act, a bill that would grant $70 billion for clearing a backlog of repairs and upgrades to federal subsidized housing and $25 billion for grants for affordable housing construction and maintenance in low-income communities, Native American reservations, disaffected rural areas, and vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled.[\[146\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-146)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Labor unions
+In the final weeks before the [2010 California Attorney General election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_California_Attorney_General_election "2010 California Attorney General election"), union groups such as California Labor Federation, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 and the California Nurses Association "spent hundreds of thousands of dollars" in an attempt to help Harris defeat Republican nominee [Steve Cooley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Cooley "Steve Cooley").[\[147\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-SanFranciscoLabor-147)
+President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden") and Vice President Harris walk out to the [South Lawn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Lawn "South Lawn") before signing the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_Investment_and_Jobs_Act "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act"), November 2021.
+In May 2018, Harris co-sponsored the Workplace Democracy Act, a bill introduced by Representatives [Donald Norcross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Norcross "Donald Norcross"), [Mark Pocan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Pocan "Mark Pocan"), and [Rosa DeLauro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_DeLauro "Rosa DeLauro") and Senator [Bernie Sanders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders "Bernie Sanders") intended to help workers bargain for higher wages, benefits, or better working conditions. It included a mandate that there be a union for workers when a majority of them in a bargaining unit sign valid authorization cards to join a union and prevented employers from exploiting workers by mischaracterizing them as independent contractors or denying them overtime.[\[148\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-148)
+In June 2018, Harris led seven other senators in sponsoring a bill amending the [Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Labor_Standards_Act_of_1938 "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938") to include a mandate forcing farmers to pay workers time and a half for each hour worked past the standard 40-hour work week. She said the bill aimed "to correct some of the injustices they face and guarantee they will get paid for the hours they work, including overtime and minimum wage, which right now they are not entitled to by law."[\[149\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-149)
+In April 2019, Harris delivered a speech at a labor dinner honoring state legislators in [Sacramento](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California "Sacramento, California") in which she listed workers benefits that would not have been possible without organized labor and condemned rhetoric that calls unions "special-interest groups".[\[147\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-SanFranciscoLabor-147)
+In July 2019, Harris and Representative [Pramila Jayapal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pramila_Jayapal "Pramila Jayapal") introduced the [Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_Worker%27s_Bill_of_Rights "Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights"). The bill included protections against harassment and discrimination, guarantees for meal breaks, a minimum wage, and overtime pay. Harris said that for too long American workers had "not been afforded the same rights and benefits as nearly every other worker, and we must change that" and that the bill was "an opportunity to bring economic justice and empowerment to millions of domestic workers—particularly those who are immigrants and women of color."[\[150\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-150)
+In July 2019, Harris signed a letter to [United States Secretary of Labor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Labor "United States Secretary of Labor") [Alexander Acosta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Acosta "Alexander Acosta") that advocated that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fully investigate a complaint filed on May 20 by a group of Chicago-area employees of [McDonald's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s "McDonald's") that detailed workplace violence incidents, including customers throwing hot coffee and threatening employees with firearms. The senators argued that McDonald's could and must "do more to protect its employees, but employers will not take seriously their obligations to provide a safe workplace if OSHA does not enforce workers rights to a hazard-free workplace."[\[151\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-151)
+In August 2019, Harris delivered a speech at the Nevada State AFL-CIO Convention asserting that workers were benefiting from the American economy and that the U.S. would be stronger if it invested in the American worker.[\[152\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-152)
+In August 2019, a bill that would mandate a California Supreme Court ruling that deems a greater share of workers to be employees as opposed to independent contractors be made law was seen as "setting up a clash between organized labor and prominent California companies like [Uber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber "Uber") and [Postmates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmates "Postmates")." Ian Sams, a spokesperson for Harris's 2020 presidential campaign, said Harris supported the bill because "we need to go even further to bolster worker protections and benefits and elevate the voice of workers", adding that she wanted all workers to have a "robust social safety net" and the right to join a union.[\[153\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-153)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Paid leave
+Vice President Harris participates in a tour of the Carpenters International Training Center in [Las Vegas, Nevada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,_Nevada "Las Vegas, Nevada"), July 2021.
+On October 7, 2019, Harris unveiled a six-month paid family and medical leave plan that included forming a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave that would determine eligibility and authorize benefit payments. Harris's program would be funded through general revenue and payroll contributions and establish a federal Bureau of Children and Family Justice. In a statement, Harris said a guaranteed six-month paid leave would bring the U.S. "closer to economic justice for workers and ensures newborn children or children who are sick can get the care they need from a parent without thrusting the family into upheaval".[\[154\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-154)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Small business
+In May 2020, Harris and [Ayanna Pressley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayanna_Pressley "Ayanna Pressley") introduced the Saving Our Street Act, a bill that would allocate grants of up to $250,000 to businesses with fewer than 10 employees, providing relief to "micro businesses" shut out of the larger coronavirus relief bill. Under the bill, 75% of the $124.5 billion program would go to business and nonprofit owners from underrepresented groups and businesses with less than $1 million in annual gross revenue.[\[155\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-155)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Taxes
+Harris opposed the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Cuts_and_Jobs_Act "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act") and has called for a repeal of the bill's tax cuts for wealthy Americans.[\[156\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-:0-156) In 2018, she proposed a tax cut for most working- and middle-class Americans. An analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated that the bill would reduce federal revenue by $2.8 trillion over a decade. She proposed to pay for the tax cuts by repealing tax cuts for wealthy Americans and increasing taxes on corporations.[\[111\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Reuters_2019-111)[\[156\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-:0-156)[\[157\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-157)
+In April 2020, Harris co-sponsored of the All Dependents Count Act, legislation to expand eligibility for the CARES Act's $500 credit per dependent for all taxpayers.[\[158\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-158)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### United States Postal Service
+In March 2019, Harris co-sponsored a bipartisan resolution led by [Gary Peters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Peters "Gary Peters") and [Jerry Moran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Moran "Jerry Moran") that opposed privatization of the [United States Postal Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service "United States Postal Service") (USPS), citing the USPS as an establishment that was self-sustained and noting concerns that privatization could cause higher prices and reduced services for customers, especially in rural communities.[\[159\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-159)
+In April 2020, Harris was one of 14 senators to sign a letter led by Cory Booker to Senate Majority Leader [Mitch McConnell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell "Mitch McConnell") and Senate Minority Leader [Chuck Schumer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer "Chuck Schumer") urging them "to provide appropriate funding to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the next coronavirus package that Congress takes up" because millions of Americans rely on the USPS for essential goods and duties.[\[160\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-160)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Workplace harassment
+In March 2019, Harris and Republican Senator [Lisa Murkowski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Murkowski "Lisa Murkowski") reintroduced the Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace Harassment through Education and Reporting (EMPOWER) Act, a bill that would prohibit non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses some employers use in employment requirements.[\[161\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-161)
+In April 2019, Harris signed on to the Be HEARD Act, legislation intended to abolish the tipped minimum wage and end mandatory arbitration and pre-employment nondisclosure agreements. The bill also gave workers additional time to report harassment and was said by co-sponsor [Patty Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Murray "Patty Murray") to come at a time when too many workers are "still silenced by mandatory disclosure agreements that prevent them from discussing sexual harassment and long-standing practices like the tipped wages that keep workers in certain industries especially vulnerable."[\[162\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-162)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+## Foreign policy
+### Presidential war powers
+In September 2019, _[The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")_ issued a questionnaire including the question, "Under what circumstances other than a literally imminent threat to the United States, if any, does the Constitution permit a president to order an attack on another country without prior Congressional authorization? What about bombing Iranian or North Korean nuclear facilities?" Harris answered: "The President's top priority is to keep America secure, and I won't hesitate to do what it takes to protect our country in the face of an imminent threat in the future. But after almost two decades of war, it is long past time for Congress to rewrite the [Authorization for Use of Military Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_of_2001 "Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001") that governs our current military conflicts. The situations in Iran or North Korea would require careful consideration of all of the surrounding facts and circumstances."[\[163\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-163)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Asia
+#### China
+Harris meets with Prime Minister [Lee Hsien Loong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hsien_Loong "Lee Hsien Loong") in [Istana, Singapore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istana,_Singapore "Istana, Singapore"), August 2021.
+Harris sharply criticized President Trump's [trade war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_trade_war "China–United States trade war") with China, calling the administration's arbitrary use of tariffs "counterproductive to its goal of ensuring a level playing field for American companies."[\[164\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-164)
+Harris has also condemned the Chinese government's "[abysmal human rights record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China "Human rights in China")", emphasizing the mass detention of [Uyghur Muslims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghurs "Uyghurs") in the [Xinjiang internment camps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_internment_camps "Xinjiang internment camps") and [mass surveillance in China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance_in_China "Mass surveillance in China") for political and religious repression. She added that while cooperation with the Chinese may be necessary on global issues like [climate change](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change "Climate change"), the U.S. must reclaim its moral authority to stand up forcefully for human rights in China.[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165) Harris has expressed her support for the [protesters in Hong Kong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Hong_Kong_protests "2019–20 Hong Kong protests"), co-sponsoring the [Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Human_Rights_and_Democracy_Act "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act") in October 2019,[\[166\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-166) condemning the Hong Kong government's "excessive use of force" and "failure to respect the rights and autonomy of Hong Kong's people", and criticizing the Trump administration for turning "a blind eye."[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165)
+In September 2023, as Harris attended the annual East Asia Summit in [Jakarta, Indonesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta,_Indonesia "Jakarta, Indonesia"),[\[167\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-167) she rebuked China for its "bullying" attempts to control access to the South China Sea.[\[168\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-168) After the trip, Harris told CBS host [Margaret Brennan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Brennan "Margaret Brennan") that the U.S. relationship with China is about both de-risking and understanding, adding, "It's not about pulling out, but it is about ensuring that we are protecting American interests, and that we are a leader in terms of the rules of the road, as opposed to following others' rules."[\[169\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-169)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Asia
+#### India
+Harris has taken stances on Indian legislation such as [the Citizenship Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_/(Amendment/)_Act,_2019 "Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019"), as well as legislation affecting [Kashmir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir "Kashmir"), which the Indian government considers sovereign matters. Within weeks after India ended Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019, Harris and other leaders of the Democratic Party met members of the Kashmiri diaspora represented by the [non-governmental organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization "Non-governmental organization") Justice For Kashmir (JFK). According to media reports, JFK aims to raise awareness of India's "political incursions" in Kashmir among leading U.S. politicians, bureaucrats, and intellectuals. These meetings were arranged by Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani doctor who was at the time running for [lieutenant governor of California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_governor_of_California "Lieutenant governor of California").[\[170\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-170)
+In December 2019, Harris criticized India's foreign minister, [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subrahmanyam_Jaishankar "Subrahmanyam Jaishankar"), for refusing to attend a meeting with Congressional delegates because the delegation included [Pramila Jayapal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pramila_Jayapal "Pramila Jayapal"), who had introduced a resolution urging India to lift restrictions on Kashmir. The [Narendra Modi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Modi "Narendra Modi") administration said the resolution was not a "fair characteristic of what the government of India is doing".
+During her presidential campaign, when Harris was asked about the lockdown in Kashmir, she said, "It is about reminding people that they are not alone, that we are all watching".[\[171\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-17082020cnnnews18-171)[\[172\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-08082019dawn-172)
+In June 2023, Harris and Secretary of State [Antony Blinken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Blinken "Antony Blinken") hosted a luncheon with [Prime Minister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_India "Prime Minister of India") Modi, at which she thanked him for his "role and leadership in helping India emerge as a global leader in the 21st century".[\[173\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-173) Modi in turn praised Harris for her achievements and called her an inspiration for women in both the U.S. and India.[\[174\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-174)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Asia
+#### Myanmar
+In October 2017, Harris condemned the [genocide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E2%80%93present_Rohingya_genocide_in_Myanmar "2017–present Rohingya genocide in Myanmar") of the [Rohingya Muslim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people "Rohingya people") minority in [Myanmar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar "Myanmar") and called for a stronger response to the crisis.[\[175\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-175)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Asia
+#### North Korea
+[![Image 19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Vice_President_Harris_at_the_141st_Commencement_of_the_U.S._Coast_Guard_Academy_%282%29.jpg/300px-Vice_President_Harris_at_the_141st_Commencement_of_the_U.S._Coast_Guard_Academy_%282%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vice_President_Harris_at_the_141st_Commencement_of_the_U.S._Coast_Guard_Academy_/(2/).jpg)
+Harris at U.S. Coast Guard Academy, May 2022
+Serving on the [Select Committee on Intelligence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Select_Committee_on_Intelligence "United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence"), Harris called [North Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea "North Korea") "one of the most serious security threats."[\[176\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-176) In February 2018, she was one of 18 Democratic senators to sign a letter to President Trump saying that he lacked the authority to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea without authorization from Congress. The letter read:
+> Without congressional authority, a preventative or preemptive U.S. military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority.[\[177\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-177)
+In February 2019, after former Acting FBI Director [Andrew McCabe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_McCabe "Andrew McCabe") said that Trump believed the claims of [President of Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Russia "President of Russia") [Vladimir Putin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin "Vladimir Putin") over U.S. intelligence agencies' reports on the subject of [North Korea's missile capabilities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction "North Korea and weapons of mass destruction"), she told reporters, "The idea that the president of the U.S. would take the word of the head of Russia over the intel community is the height of irresponsibility and shameful."[\[178\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-178) Later that month, the [2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_North_Korea%E2%80%93United_States_Hanoi_Summit "2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit") scheduled for February 27 and 28 at the [Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofitel_Legend_Metropole_Hanoi "Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi") in [Hanoi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi "Hanoi"), [Vietnam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam "Vietnam"), was cut short without an agreement after the White House claimed North Korea purportedly requested an end to all sanctions, though North Korean Foreign Minister [Ri Yong-ho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ri_Yong-ho_/(diplomat/) "Ri Yong-ho (diplomat)") later said the regime was interested only in a partial lifting of sanctions.[\[179\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-179)
+In a May 2019 appearance on CNN, Harris condemned Trump's relationship with North Korean dictator [Kim Jong-un](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un "Kim Jong-un"). After the failure of the Hanoi summit and after a North Korean ship was seized in defiance of international sanctions, Kim conducted missile tests in retaliation, and Harris said that embracing Kim and not confronting the regime's human rights violations was "not in the best interests of the nation".[\[180\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-180)
+In an August 2019 interview, Harris emphasized that any diplomatic solution with respect to North Korea must involve Japan and [the Republic of Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea "South Korea"). When asked whether, as president, she would sign an agreement with North Korea granting partial sanctions relief in exchange for some denuclearization, Harris replied that Trump had given "Kim one PR victory after the next, all without securing any real concessions" and that she would "consider targeted sanctions relief to improve the lives of the North Korean people if the regime were to take serious, verifiable steps to roll back its nuclear program."[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165)
+During the November 2019 Democratic presidential debate, Harris was asked whether she would make concessions to Kim to continue the talks the Trump administration started. Harris responded that Trump had been "punked" and had compromised the United States' ability to slow North Korea's nuclear program. She added that since military exercises with [South Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea "South Korea") had ended, there were no more concessions to be made and that Trump had "traded a photo op for nothing".[\[181\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-181)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Central and South America
+#### El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
+[![Image 20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Vice_President_Harris_met_with_Xiomara_Castro_shortly_after_her_inauguration_%282%29.jpg/288px-Vice_President_Harris_met_with_Xiomara_Castro_shortly_after_her_inauguration_%282%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vice_President_Harris_met_with_Xiomara_Castro_shortly_after_her_inauguration_/(2/).jpg)
+Harris attends the inauguration of Honduran President [Xiomara Castro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiomara_Castro "Xiomara Castro"), January 2022.
+In April and July 2019, Harris was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to Trump encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration" and reverse a decision to cut off $370 million in foreign assistance to [El Salvador](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador "El Salvador"), [Guatemala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala "Guatemala"), and [Honduras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras "Honduras"). The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S. by helping to improve conditions in those countries.[\[182\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-182)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Central and South America
+#### Brazil
+In 2019, as the [2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Amazon_rainforest_wildfires "2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires") began intensifying in Brazil, [Bolivia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia "Bolivia"), [Paraguay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguay "Paraguay"), and [Peru](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru "Peru") as a result of [slash-and-burn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash-and-burn "Slash-and-burn") deforestation and the effects of climate change, Harris called out Brazilian President [Jair Bolsonaro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jair_Bolsonaro "Jair Bolsonaro") for his failure to act.[\[183\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-183) She later joined her Senate colleagues in urging [U.S. Trade Representative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Trade_Representative "U.S. Trade Representative") [Robert Lighthizer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lighthizer "Robert Lighthizer") to postpone trade negotiations with Brazil until he took steps to combat the deforestation.[\[184\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-184)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Central and South America
+#### Venezuela
+In early 2019, the [Venezuelan presidential crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_presidential_crisis "Venezuelan presidential crisis") erupted between factions supporting incumbent [Nicolás Maduro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro "Nicolás Maduro") and challenger [Juan Guaidó](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Guaid%C3%B3 "Juan Guaidó"). The opposition-majority [National Assembly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_/(Venezuela/) "National Assembly (Venezuela)") declared Maduro a "usurper" and announced its intention to proceed with Guaidó as the acting president under Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, while the [Supreme Tribunal of Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Tribunal_of_Justice_/(Venezuela/) "Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela)") declared the National Assembly "unconstitutional." Protests erupted and international condemnation of Maduro followed, with about [60 countries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responses_to_the_Venezuelan_presidential_crisis "Responses to the Venezuelan presidential crisis") recognizing Guaidó as acting president.[\[185\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-185)[\[186\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-186) Recognition of the Maduro government fell along traditional geopolitical lines, with the governments of China, [Cuba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba "Cuba"), [Iran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran "Iran"), [North Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea "North Korea"), Russia, and [Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey "Turkey") supporting him.[\[187\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-187) Guaidó promised to allow U.S. oil companies to increase their activity in Venezuela.[\[188\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-188) His U.S. supporters,[\[189\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-189) such as Senator [Marco Rubio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Rubio "Marco Rubio"), said that Guaidó would create jobs refining heavy crude for American workers.[\[190\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-190)
+In response, Harris condemned Maduro as a repressive and corrupt dictator, calling on the Venezuelan military not to exercise use of force against civilians.[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165) She committed to extending [temporary protected status](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_protected_status "Temporary protected status") to Venezuelans living the U.S. to prevent their deportation.[\[191\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-191) She did not support military action by U.S. forces, criticizing [John Bolton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bolton "John Bolton")'s suggestion to adopt a more [hawkish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_hawk "War hawk") position, instead advocating additional aid to humanitarian organizations working in Venezuela.[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Europe
+#### NATO
+Harris represents the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States "United States") at Munich Security Conference standing with [NATO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO "NATO") allies, February 2022.
+In July 2018, ahead of an [Exercise RIMPAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_RIMPAC "Exercise RIMPAC"), the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise between the military forces from the [Pacific Rim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Rim "Pacific Rim") and beyond, Harris expressed gratitude to the member nations of [NATO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO "NATO"). She said that Trump's "disgusting" criticism of Canada, Germany, and other NATO countries had "frayed" the alliance but that "longtime mutual trust surpasses whatever happens in the White House".[\[192\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-192)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+#### Russia
+In June 2017, Harris spoke out against Russia's [interference in the 2016 elections](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections "Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections"), calling out its exploitation of divisive issues and joining the intelligence community's unanimous assessment that the Russians assisted Trump's campaign.[\[193\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-193) In July 2017, she voted for the [Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countering_America%27s_Adversaries_Through_Sanctions_Act "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act"), which grouped together [sanctions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions "International sanctions") against [Iran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran "Iran"), Russia and [North Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea "North Korea").[\[194\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-194)
+Harris has condemned the [Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Federation "Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation"), calling it a "severe violation of the international norms that have guided the world since World War II." She also called the downing of [Malaysia Airlines Flight 17](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17 "Malaysia Airlines Flight 17") an act of Russian aggression, attributing responsibility for the deaths of the 298 civilian passengers to a Russian [surface-to-air](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-to-air "Surface-to-air") missile.[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165) She expressed her support for the sovereignty of [Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine "Ukraine") and led her colleagues in holding the Trump administration accountable on the issue by filing a [Freedom of Information Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_/(United_States/) "Freedom of Information Act (United States)") lawsuit, in hopes of releasing documents related to the [Trump–Ukraine scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Ukraine_scandal "Trump–Ukraine scandal") that eventually led to [Trump's first impeachment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_impeachment_of_Donald_Trump "First impeachment of Donald Trump").[\[195\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-195)[\[196\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-196)[\[197\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-197)[\[198\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-198)
+In December 2018, after Secretary of State [Mike Pompeo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo "Mike Pompeo") announced the Trump administration would suspend its obligations in the [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate-Range_Nuclear_Forces_Treaty "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty") in 60 days if Russia continued to violate the treaty, Harris was one of 26 senators to sign a letter expressing concern about "abandoning generations of bipartisan U.S. leadership around the paired goals of reducing the global role and number of nuclear weapons and ensuring strategic stability with America's nuclear-armed adversaries" and calling on Trump to continue arms negotiations.[\[199\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-199)
+In April 2024, Harris wrote a column for _Time_ magazine's list of 100 most influential people describing her meeting with [Yulia Navalnaya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Navalnaya "Yulia Navalnaya") at the Munich Security Conference in February, the day Yulia's husband [Alexei Navalny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny "Alexei Navalny"), Russian opposition leader, died in a penal colony in Russia's Far North.[\[200\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-200)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Europe
+#### Ukraine
+In February 2023, Harris said that the U.S. had determined that Russia had committed "crimes against humanity" in its [invasion of Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine "Russian invasion of Ukraine") and that the perpetrators and those complicit in their crimes would be held accountable.[\[201\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-201)
+In February 2024, Harris and [President of Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Ukraine "President of Ukraine") [Volodymyr Zelenskyy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy "Volodymyr Zelenskyy") held a news conference at the Munich Security Conference. Harris said: "President Biden and I will continue to work to secure the resources and weapons you need to succeed. We will be with you for as long as it takes."[\[202\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-202)[\[203\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-203)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Middle East
+#### Afghanistan
+[![Image 22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/President_Joe_Biden_and_Vice_President_Kamala_Harris_are_briefed_by_their_national_security_team.jpg/320px-President_Joe_Biden_and_Vice_President_Kamala_Harris_are_briefed_by_their_national_security_team.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:President_Joe_Biden_and_Vice_President_Kamala_Harris_are_briefed_by_their_national_security_team.jpg)
+US President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden") and Kamala Harris discussing the [fall of Kabul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Kabul_/(2021/) "Fall of Kabul (2021)") with the [National Security Council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Security_Council "United States National Security Council"), August 2021
+In December 2018, Harris traveled to [Kabul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabul "Kabul"), [Mazar-e Sharif](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazar-e_Sharif "Mazar-e Sharif"), and [Kandahar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar "Kandahar") in Afghanistan with two of her Republican colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee, [Richard Burr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burr "Richard Burr") and [James Lankford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lankford "James Lankford"), to visit troops, diplomats, and other national security professionals. Harris said the [War in Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_/(2001%E2%80%93present/) "War in Afghanistan (2001–present)") must end, albeit responsibly and in coordination with regional allies to protect gains made for Afghan women and others.[\[204\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-204)
+Harris was the last person in the room when Biden made the decision to [withdraw troops from Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%932021_U.S._troop_withdrawal_from_Afghanistan "2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan").[\[205\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-205) In the days after the U.S. completed the withdrawal, Harris made a rare appearance in the Senate chamber as the Senate passed a bill furthering repatriation funding to aid over 5,000 Americans who evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country.[\[206\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-206)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Middle East
+#### Israel
+In 2017, Harris gave a public address to [AIPAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee "American Israel Public Affairs Committee") attendees. She said: "I believe Israel should never be a partisan issue, and as long as I'm a United States senator, I will do everything in my power to ensure broad and bipartisan support for Israel's security and right to self-defense."[\[207\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Intercept2018-207) She noted that "the first resolution I co-sponsored as a United States senator was to combat anti-Israel bias at the United Nations", referring to a Senate resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification.[\[208\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-JNS_News-208)[\[209\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-209)[\[210\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-210) Also in that speech, she expressed her support for a [two-state solution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-state_solution "Two-state solution") to the [Israeli–Palestinian conflict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict "Israeli–Palestinian conflict").[\[207\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-Intercept2018-207)
+In late 2017, Harris traveled to Israel, met with Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu "Benjamin Netanyahu"), and visited the [Western Wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Wall "Western Wall"), [Yad Vashem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_Vashem "Yad Vashem"), and the [Supreme Court of Israel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Israel "Supreme Court of Israel").[\[208\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-JNS_News-208) Executive Director of the [Jewish Democratic Council of America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Democratic_Council_of_America "Jewish Democratic Council of America") Halie Soifer, who previously served as Harris's national security advisor, said:[\[208\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-JNS_News-208)
+> She has been a lifelong supporter of Israel. She has talked about the importance of ensuring that the US-Israel relationship remains strong, and not be politicized in the way that this administration has done to divide Democrats. I think she's very supportive of the US-Israel relationship.
+In 2018, in another speech to [AIPAC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC "AIPAC"), Harris reiterated her support for Israel, reminiscing about growing up in the Bay Area, collecting funds to plant trees in Israel for the [Jewish National Fund](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_National_Fund "Jewish National Fund").[\[208\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-JNS_News-208) She later condemned antisemitism in the aftermath of [Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_synagogue_shooting "Pittsburgh synagogue shooting") shooting, in which 11 worshippers died.
+In 2019, Harris opposed the [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions") movement targeting Israel.[\[211\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-jta-211) She co-sponsored a Senate resolution expressing objection to the [UN Security Council Resolution 2334](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_2334 "United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334"), which condemned [Israeli settlement building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement "Israeli settlement") in the [West Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank "West Bank") as a violation of international law.[\[208\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-JNS_News-208)[\[212\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-212)[\[211\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-jta-211)
+Harris with Israeli President [Isaac Herzog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Herzog "Isaac Herzog") at the [60th Munich Security Conference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60th_Munich_Security_Conference "60th Munich Security Conference"), February 2024
+In March 2024, in remarks at the [Edmund Pettus Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus_Bridge "Edmund Pettus Bridge") in [Selma, Alabama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma,_Alabama "Selma, Alabama"), Harris called for a ceasefire in the [Israel–Hamas war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war "Israel–Hamas war") and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for violence ending for six weeks: "People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act. The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses."[\[213\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-213)
+In August 2024, national security advisor [Philip H. Gordon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_H._Gordon "Philip H. Gordon") said that Harris did not support an [arms embargo on Israel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycotts_of_Israel "Boycotts of Israel") or placing conditions for military aid to Israel.[\[214\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-214)[\[215\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-215)
+On August 10, 2024, when asked about the [Al-Tabaeen school attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Tabaeen_school_attack "Al-Tabaeen school attack") in [Gaza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip "Gaza Strip"), Harris said Israel had a right to "go after Hamas" but should "avoid civilian casualties", adding, "First and foremost—and the president and I have been working on this around the clock—we need to get the hostages out."[\[216\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-216)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Middle East
+#### Iran
+Harris supported the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action"), also known as the [Iran nuclear deal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_nuclear_deal "Iran nuclear deal").[\[211\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-jta-211) In 2018, after Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from the treaty, Harris released a statement saying the decision "jeopardizes our national security and isolates us from our closest allies" while calling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action "the best existing tool we have to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and avoid a disastrous military conflict in the Middle East."[\[217\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-217) In 2019, Harris said she would rejoin the agreement and expand it to cover ballistic missile testing.[\[218\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-218)
+In the wake of the assassination of [Qasem Soleimani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani "Qasem Soleimani"), the commander of the Iranian [Quds Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quds_Force "Quds Force"), Harris joined her Senate colleagues in introducing the No War Against Iran Act and condemning Trump's "dangerous escalation" with the Iranian regime.[\[219\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-219)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Middle East
+#### Saudi Arabia
+In late 2018, Harris voted to withdraw U.S. military aid for [Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian-led_intervention_in_Yemen "Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen"). She also backed a resolution blaming Saudi Crown Prince [Mohammad bin Salman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_bin_Salman "Mohammad bin Salman") for the murder of dissident journalist [Jamal Khashoggi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi "Jamal Khashoggi") at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul[\[220\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-220) and said that Trump had turned a blind eye to the murder.[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165) She has called for a "fundamental" reevaluation of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, but acknowledged that the Saudis have been strong partners in areas of mutual interest, such as [counterterrorism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterterrorism "Counterterrorism").[\[165\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-CFR2019-165)
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+### Middle East
+#### Syria
+In April 2017, in response to the [Khan Shaykhun chemical attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Shaykhun_chemical_attack "Khan Shaykhun chemical attack"), Harris condemned Syrian president [Bashar al-Assad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad "Bashar al-Assad") for attacking Syrian children, calling it a "clear fact that president Assad is not only a ruthless dictator brutalizing his own people—he is a war criminal the international community cannot ignore." She called on Trump to work with Congress on his administration's "lack of clear objectives in Syria and articulate a detailed strategy and path forward in partnership with our allies."[\[221\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-221) Later that month, in her first overseas trip as a senator, she visited the [Zaatari refugee camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaatari_refugee_camp "Zaatari refugee camp") in Jordan, the world's largest camp for Syrian refugees.[\[222\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-222)
+In May 2017, the Trump administration armed [Kurds in Syria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rojava "Rojava") in the fight against [ISIS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISIS "ISIS") over the objections of [Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey "Turkey").[\[223\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-223) In November 2017, under pressure from Turkish President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan "Recep Tayyip Erdogan"), Trump reversed course and cut off the Kurds' supply of arms.[\[224\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-224) Then, in December 2018, Trump announced the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, leading to the resignation of Defense Secretary [Jim Mattis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Mattis "Jim Mattis"). Harris immediately criticized Trump's decision, which gave [Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey "Turkey") the green light to launch the [military offensive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Turkish_offensive_into_north-eastern_Syria "2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria") against Syrian Kurds.[\[225\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-225)
+In August 2019, after Representative [Tulsi Gabbard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard "Tulsi Gabbard") attacked Harris's record as a prosecutor in a presidential debate, Harris called Gabbard an "apologist" for Assad's regime.[\[226\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-226) In a November 2019 a presidential debate, Harris condemned Gabbard for meeting with Assad in 2017, her subsequent skepticism about claims that Assad used chemical weapons against civilians in [Khan Shaykhun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Shaykhun_chemical_attack "Khan Shaykhun chemical attack"), and her refusal to call Assad a war criminal.
+
+## Kamala Harris' political views
+## Climate change and the environment
+U.S. Senator Harris tours neighborhood in Santa Rosa, California.
+During her time as San Francisco District Attorney, Harris created the Environmental Justice Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office[\[228\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-228) and prosecuted several industries and individuals for pollution, most notably [U-Haul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Haul "U-Haul"), Alameda Publishing Corporation, and the [Cosco Busan oil spill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosco_Busan_oil_spill "Cosco Busan oil spill"). She also advocated strong enforcement of environmental protection laws.[\[229\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-229)
+In October 2017, Harris was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to [Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency "Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency") [Scott Pruitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt "Scott Pruitt") questioning Pruitt's decision to repeal the [Clean Power Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Power_Plan "Clean Power Plan"), asserting that the repeal's proposal used "mathematical sleights of hand to overstate the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized" and that denying science and fabricating math would fail to "satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing."[\[230\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-230)
+In September 2018, Harris was one of eight senators to sponsor the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, a bill co-sponsor [Elizabeth Warren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren "Elizabeth Warren") said would use "market forces to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy—reducing the odds of an environmental and financial disaster without spending a dime of taxpayer money."[\[231\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-231) Harris said her goal would be to get 100% of U.S. electricity from [renewable energy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy "Renewable energy") sources, and that she supports a [Green New Deal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_Deal "Green New Deal"), an idea popularized by Representative [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez"), because "climate change is an existential threat to all of us".[\[232\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-232)
+In November 2018, Harris was one of 25 Democratic senators to co-sponsor a resolution specifying key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment. The resolution affirmed the senators' acceptance of the findings and their support for bold action to [address climate change](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_mitigation "Climate change mitigation").[\[233\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-233)
+On July 29, 2019, Harris and Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Climate Equity Act, a bill that laid out steps for Congress and the White House to guarantee policies that composed "a future Green New Deal to protect the health and economic wellbeing of all Americans for generations to come." Calling climate change "an existential threat", Harris said that cutting emissions and ending American reliance on fossil fuels were not enough and cited the need "that communities already contending with unsafe drinking water, toxic air, and lack of economic opportunity are not left behind."
+In August 2019, Harris was one of 15 senators to sign a letter to EPA Administrator [Andrew Wheeler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_R._Wheeler "Andrew R. Wheeler") urging the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos given that the agency had found "that chlorpyrifos harms children's brains at exposures far lower than what the EPA allows" and warned that "more children, farmworkers and American families will be exposed to this pesticide and they will suffer as a result" of the EPA not reversing its decision.[\[235\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-235)
+On September 4, 2019, Harris unveiled a $10 trillion climate change plan intended to move the U.S. to a 100% renewable energy-based power grid by 2030 in addition to requiring that all vehicles sold in the U.S. have no tailpipe emissions by 2035.[\[236\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-236) She pledged to rejoin the [Paris Agreement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement "Paris Agreement") and end U.S. support for international oil and natural gas extraction projects, adding that as president she would "hold polluters accountable for the damage they inflict upon our environment and set us on a path to a 100% clean economy that creates millions of good-paying jobs".[\[237\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-237)
+In February 2020 Harris was one of seven senators to sign a letter to [Secretary of the Interior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Interior "United States Secretary of the Interior") [David Bernhardt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bernhardt "David Bernhardt") that called it "reckless and unwise" to remove protections to the Arctic after the U.S. Geological Survey found the Arctic to the fastest-warming place on earth and stating their support for "the strongest possible protections" for Special Areas within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.[\[238\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Kamala_Harris#cite_note-238)
+In April 2020, in response to the proposed decision of the EPA to retain the [Obama administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_administration "Obama administration")'s air quality standards, Harris was one of 18 senators to sign a letter led by [Maggie Hassan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Hassan "Maggie Hassan") asserting that the EPA "should be taking actions that will further protect health during this crisis, not put more Americans at risk".
+
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+bay you either live in the Hills or the
+Flatlands we lived in the flats a
+beautiful workingclass neighborhood of
+firefighters nurses and construction
+workers all who tended their lawns with
+pride my mother she worked long hours
+and like many working parents she leaned
+on a trusted Circle to help raise us Mrs
+Shelton who ran the daycare below us and
+became a second mother
+Uncle Sherman Aunt Mary uncle Freddy
+Auntie Chris none of them family by
+Blood and all of them family by
+love family who taught us how to make
+gumbo how to play
+chess and sometimes even let us
+win family who loves loved us believed
+in us and told us we could be anything
+and do
+anything they instilled in us the values
+they
+personified
+Community faith and the importance of
+treating others as you would want to be
+treated with
+kindness respect and
+compassion my mother was a brilliant 5
+foot tall brown woman with an
+accent and as the eldest child as the
+eldest child I saw how the world would
+sometimes treat her but my mother never
+lost her cool she was tough courageous a
+Trailblazer in the fight for Women's
+Health and she taught Maya and me
+a lesson that Michelle mentioned the
+other night she taught us to never
+complain about Injustice but do
+something about it do something about
+it that was my
+mother and she taught us and she always
+she also taught us and she also taught
+us and never do anything half
+asked and that is a direct quote
+qu a direct
+quote I grew up immersed in the ideal of
+the Civil Rights Movement my parents had
+met at a civil rights Gathering and they
+made sure that we learned about civil
+rights leaders including the lawyers
+like thur Good Marshall and con
+Constance Baker
+mle those who battled in the courtroom
+to make real the promise of America so
+at a young age I decided I wanted to do
+that work I wanted to be a lawyer and
+when it came time to choose the type of
+law I would pursue I reflected on a
+pivotal moment in my
+life you see when I was in high school I
+started to notice something about my
+best friend
+Wanda she was sad at school and there
+were times she didn't want to go home
+so one day I asked if everything was all
+right and she confided in me that she
+was being sexually abused by her
+stepfather and I immediately told her
+she had to come stay with us and she
+did this is one of the reasons I became
+a
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+prosecutor to protect people like Wanda
+because I believe everyone has a right
+to safety to dignity and to Justice
+as a prosecutor when I had a case I
+charged it not in the name of the victim
+but in the name of the people for a
+simple reason in our system of justice a
+harm against any one of us is a harm
+against all of us
+and I would often explain this to
+console survivors of crime to remind
+them no one should be made to fight
+alone we are all in this
+together and every
+day in the courtroom I stood proudly
+before a judge and I said five words
+kamla harrris for the
+[Music]
+people and to be
+clear and to be clear my entire career
+I've only had one client the
+people and so on behalf of the
+people on behalf of every American
+regardless of party race gender or the
+language your grandmother
+speaks on behalf of my
+mother and everyone who has ever set out
+on their own unlikely
+Journey on behalf of Americans like the
+people I grew up with people who work
+hard chase their dreams and look out for
+one
+another on behalf of everyone whose
+story could only be written in the
+greatest nation on
+Earth I accept your nomination to be
+president of the United States of
+America
+and with this
+election
+and and with this
+election our
+nation our nation with this election has
+a precious fleeting opportunity to move
+past the bitterness cynicism and
+divisive battles of of the past a chance
+to chart a new way
+forward not not as members of any one
+party or faction but as
+Americans and let me say I know there
+are people of various political views
+watching tonight and I want you to know
+I promise to be a president for all
+Americans you can always trust me to put
+country above party and
+self to hold sacred America's
+fundamental principles from the rule of
+law to free and fair elections to the
+peaceful transfer of
+power I will be a president who unites
+us around our highest
+aspirations a president who leads and
+listens who is
+realistic
+practical and has common
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+sense and always fights for the American
+people from the courthouse to the White
+House that has been my life's work
+as a young courtroom prosecutor in
+Oakland California I stood up for women
+and children against predators who abuse
+them as Attorney General of California I
+took on the big
+Banks delivered $20 billion for middle
+class families who faced foreclosure and
+helped pass a homeowner Bill of Rights
+one of the first of its kind in the
+nation I stood up for veterans and
+students being scammed by big for-profit
+colleges for workers who are being
+cheated out of their wages the wages
+they were
+due for seniors facing elder abuse I
+fought against the cartels who traffick
+in guns and drugs and human beings who
+threaten the security of our border and
+the safety of our
+communities and I will tell you these
+fights were not easy and neither were
+the elections that put me in those
+offices we were
+underestimated at practically every
+turn but we never gave up because the
+future is all always worth fighting
+for and that's the fight we are in right
+now a fight for America's
+future fellow Americans this
+election is not only the most important
+of Our
+Lives it is one of the most important
+in the life of our
+nation in many ways Donald Trump is an
+unserious
+man but the
+consequences but the consequences of
+putting Donald Trump back in the White
+House are extremely
+serious
+consider consider not only the chaos and
+Calamity when he was in office but also
+the gravity of what has happened since
+he lost the last
+election Donald Trump tried to throw
+away your votes when he failed he sent
+an armed mob to the United States
+capital where they assaulted Law
+Enforcement
+Officers when politicians in his own
+party
+begged him to call off the mob and send
+help he did the opposite he fanned the
+flames and now for an entirely different
+set of crimes he was found guilty of
+fraud by a jury of everyday
+Americans and
+separately and separately found liable
+for committing sexual abuse
+and
+consider consider what he intends to do
+if we give him power again consider his
+explicit intent to set free violent
+extremists who assaulted those law
+enforcement officers at the capital his
+explicit intent to jail journalists
+political opponents and anyone he sees
+as the enemy his explicit intent to
+deploy our active duty military against
+our own
+citizens
+consider consider the power he will have
+especially after the United States
+Supreme Court just ruled that he would
+be immune from Criminal
+prosecution just
+imagine Donald Trump with no guard
+rails and how he would use the immense
+powers of the presidency of the United
+States not to improve your life not to
+strengthen our national
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+security but to serve the only client he
+has ever had
+himself and we
+know and we know what a second Trump
+term would look like it's all laid out
+in Project
+2025 written by his closest
+advisors and its sum total is to pull
+our country back to the past but
+America we are not going back we are not
+going back
+we are not going
+back we are not going back to when
+Donald Trump tried to cut Social
+Security and
+Medicare we are not going back to when
+he tried to get rid of the Affordable
+Care Act when insurance companies could
+deny people with pre-existing conditions
+we are not going to let him eliminate
+the Department of Education that funds
+runs our Public
+Schools we are not going to let him end
+programs like Head Start that provide
+preschool and child care for our
+children America we are not going
+back
+and we are
+charting and we are charting a a new way
+forward
+forward to a future with a strong and
+growing middle class because we know a
+strong middle class has always been
+critical to America's success and
+building that middle class will be a
+defining goal of my
+presidency and I'll tell you this is
+personal for me me the middle class is
+where I come from my mother kept a
+strict budget we lived within our means
+yet we wanted for little and she
+expected us to make the most of the
+opportunities that were available to us
+and to be grateful for them because as
+she taught us opportunity is not
+available to
+everyone that's why we will create what
+I call an opportunity economy an
+opportunity economy where everyone has
+the chance to compete and a chance to
+succeed
+whether you live in a rural area small
+town or big city and as president I will
+bring together labor and workers and
+small business owners and entrepreneurs
+and American companies to create jobs to
+grow our economy and to lower the cost
+of everyday needs like Health Care and
+housing and groceries we will provide
+access to capital for small business
+owners and entrepreneurs and
+Founders and we will end America's
+housing
+shortage and protect Social Security and
+Medicare
+now compare that to Donald Trump because
+I think everyone here knows he doesn't
+actually fight for the middle class not
+he doesn't actually fight for the middle
+class instead he fights for himself and
+his billionaire friends and he will give
+them another round of tax breaks that
+will add up to $5 trillion to the
+national
+debt and all the while he intends to
+enact what in effect is a national sales
+tax call it a trump tax that would raise
+prices on middle class families by
+almost $4,000 a
+year well instead of a trump tax hike we
+will pass a middle class tax cut that
+will benefit more than 100 million
+Americans
+friends I believe America cannot truly
+be
+prosperous unless Americans are fully
+able to make their own decisions about
+their own lives especially on matters of
+heart and
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+home but
+tonight in America too many women are
+not able to make those decisions and
+let's be clear about how we got here
+Donald Trump handpicked members of the
+United States Supreme Court to take away
+reproductive
+freedom and now he brags about it in his
+words quote I did it and I'm proud to
+have done it end
+quote well I'll tell you over the past
+two years I've traveled across our
+country and women have told me their
+stories husbands and fathers have shared
+theirs stories of women miscarrying in a
+parking lot developing sepsis losing the
+ability to ever again have children all
+because doctors are afraid they may go
+to jail for caring for their
+patients couples just trying to grow
+their family family cut off in the
+middle of IVF
+treatments children who have survived
+sexual assault potentially being forced
+to carry a pregnancy to
+term this is what's happening in our
+country because of Donald
+Trump and understand he is not
+done as a part of his
+agenda he and his allies would limit
+access to birth control ban medication
+abortion and enact a nationwide abortion
+ban with or without Congress and get
+this get this he plans to create a
+national anti-abortion
+coordinator and force states to report
+on women's miscarriages and
+abortions simply put but they are out of
+their
+minds and one must
+ask one must ask why exactly is it that
+they don't trust
+women well we trust
+women we trust women
+and when Congress passes a bill to
+restore reproductive Freedom as
+president of the United States I will
+proudly sign it into
+law in this
+election many other fundamental freedoms
+are at stake the freedom to Live Safe
+from gun violence in our schools
+communities and places of worship the
+freedom to love who you love openly and
+with
+pride the freedom to breathe clean air
+and drink clean water and live free from
+the pollution that fuels the climate
+crisis and the freedom that unlocks all
+the others the freedom to vote
+with this election we finally have the
+opportunity to pass the John Lewis
+Voting Rights Act and the freedom to
+vote
+act and let me be clear and let me be
+clear after decades in law enforcement I
+know the importance of safety and
+security especially at our border last
+year Joe and I brought together
+Democrats and conservative Republicans
+to write the strongest border bill in
+decades the border patrol endorsed it
+but Donald Trump believes a border deal
+would hurt his
+campaign so he ordered his allies in
+Congress to kill the
+deal well I refuse to play politics
+without our security and here is my
+pledge to
+you as president I will bring back the
+bipartisan border security bill that he
+killed and I will sign it into
+law I
+know I know we can live up to our proud
+Heritage as a nation of immigrants and
+reform our broken immigration
+system we can
+create an earned Pathway to citizenship
+and secure our
+border and America we must also be
+steadfast in advancing our security and
+values
+abroad as vice president I have
+confronted threats to our security
+negotiated with foreign leaders
+strengthened our alliances and engaged
+with our brave troops
+overseas as commander and chief I will
+ensure America always has the strongest
+most lethal fighting force in the
+world and I will fulfill our sacred
+obligation to care for our troops and
+their families and I will always honor
+and never disparage their service and
+their
+sacrifice I will make
+sure that we leave the
+world into the future on space and
+artificial intelligence that America not
+China wins the competition for the 21st
+century and that we strengthen not
+abdicate our Global
+Leadership Trump on the other hand
+threatened to abandon NATO he encouraged
+Putin to invade our allies said Russia
+could quote do whatever the hell they
+want 5 days before Russia attacked
+Ukraine I met with president zinsky to
+warn him about Russia's plan to invade I
+helped mobilize a Global Response over
+50 countries to defend against Putin's
+aggression and as president I will stand
+strong with Ukraine and our NATO
+allies with respect to the war in
+Gaza President Biden and I are working
+around the clock because now is the time
+to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire
+deal
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+done and let me be clear and let me be
+clear I will always stand up for
+Israel's right to defend
+itself and I will will always ensure
+Israel has the ability to defend itself
+because the people of Israel must never
+again face the horror that a terrorist
+organization called Hamas caused on
+October
+7 including
+unspeakable sexual violence and the
+massacre of young people at a music
+festival at the same time
+what has happened in Gaza over the past
+10 months is
+devastating so many innocent lives
+lost desperate hungry people fleeing for
+safety over and over again the scale of
+suffering is
+heartbreaking President Biden and I are
+working to end this war such that Israel
+is secure the hostage are released the
+suffering in Gaza ends and the
+Palestinian people can realize their
+right to dignity security freedom and
+self-determination and know
+this I will never hesitate to take
+whatever action is necessary to defend
+our our forces and our interests against
+Iran and iran-backed terrorists I will
+not cozy up to tyrants and dictators
+like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for
+Trump who are rooting for
+Trump because you know they know they
+know he is easy to manipulate with
+flattery in
+favors they know Trump won't hold
+autocrats account able because he wants
+to be an autocrat
+himself and as president I will never
+waver in defense of America's security
+and ideals because in the enduring
+struggle between democracy and tyranny I
+know where I stand and I know where the
+United States belongs
+so fellow
+Americans fellow
+Americans I I love our country with all
+my
+heart Everywhere I
+Go Everywhere I Go in everyone I meet I
+see a nation that is ready to move
+forward ready for the next step in The
+Incredible Journey that is
+America I see an America where we hold
+fast to The Fearless belief that built
+our nation and inspired the world that
+here in this
+country anything is possible that
+nothing is out of
+reach an America where we care for one
+another look out for one another and
+recognize that we have so much more in
+common than what separates
+us that none of
+us none of us has to fail for all of us
+to succeed
+and that in unity there is
+strength you know our opponents in this
+race are out there every day denigrating
+America talking about how terrible
+everything
+is well my mother had another lesson she
+used to
+
+## Kamala Harris speaking style
+teach never let anyone tell you who you
+are you show them who you are
+America let us show each other and the
+world who we are and what we stand for
+Freedom opportunity compassion dignity
+fairness and endless possibilities
+We Are The Heirs to the greatest
+democracy in the history of the
+world and on behalf of our children and
+our grandchildren and all those who
+sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and
+liberty we must be worthy of this moment
+it is now our turn to do what
+Generations before us have done Guided
+by optimism and Faith to fight for this
+country we love to fight for the ideals
+we cherish and to
+uphold the awesome
+responsibility that comes with the
+greatest privilege on Earth the
+privilege and pride of being an
+American so let's get out there let's
+fight for it let's get out there let's
+vote for it and together let us write
+the next great chapter in the most
+extraordinary Story Ever Told
+
+## Harris interview
+Now, to my exclusive interview with Vice President Harris.
+Bret: Madam Vice President, thank you for the time.
+Harris: Thank you. It's good to be with you, Bret.
+Bret: Voters tell pollsters all over the country and here in Pennsylvania immigration is one of the key issues they are looking at this election. Specifically the influx of illegal immigrants from more than 150 countries. How many illegal immigrants would you estimate your administration has released into the country over the last three and a half years?
+Harris: Well, I'm glad you raised the issue of immigration because I agree with you, it is a -- it is a topic of discussion that people want to rightly have. And you know what I'm going to talk about.
+Bret: Just a number. Do you think it's 1 million? 3 million?
+Harris: Bret, let's just get to the point, okay? The point is that we have a broken immigration system that needs to be repaired.
+Bret: So your Homeland Security Secretary said 85% of apprehensions.
+Harris: I'm not finished.
+Bret: It's a rough estimate of 6 million people have been released into the country. Let me just finish and I will get you the question, I promise you.
+Harris: I was beginning to answer.
+Bret: When you came into office your administration immediately reversed a number of Trump border policies. Most significantly the policy that required illegal immigrants to be detained through deportation either in the U.S. or in Mexico. And you switched that policy. They were released from custody awaiting trial. So, instead included in those were a large number of single men, adult men who went on to commit heinous crimes. So, looking back, do you regret the decision to terminate remain in Mexico at the beginning of your administration?
+Harris: At the beginning of our administration, within practically hours of taking the oath, the first bill that we offered Congress before we worked on infrastructure, before the Inflation Reduction Act, before the CHIPS and Science Act, before any -- before the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first bill practically within hours of taking the oath was a bill to fix our immigration system.
+Bret: Yeah, it was called the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.
+Harris: Exactly.
+Bret: It was essentially a pathway to citizenship.
+Harris: May I please finish? May I finish responding please? You have to let me finish please.
+Bret: You had the White House, the House and the Senate.
+Harris: I am in the middle of responding to the point you are raising.
+Bret: Okay.
+Harris: I would like to finish.
+Bret: Yeah.
+Harris: We recognized from day one that to the point of this being your first question, it is a priority for us as a nation and for the American people and our focus has been on fixing a problem and from day one then, we have done a number of things, including to address our asylum system and port more resources, getting more judges, what we needed to do to tighten up penalties and increase penalties for illegal crossings. What we needed to do to deal with ports -- points of entry between border entry points. That's the work we did and we worked on supporting what was a bipartisan effort including some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress to actually strengthen the border. That border bill would have put 1500 more border agents at the border which is why I believe the border patrol agents supported the bill. It would have allowed us to stem the flow of fentanyl coming into the United States, which is a scourge affecting people of every background every geographic location in our country, killing people. It would have allowed to us put more resources no prosecuting transnational criminals which I have done.
+Bret: Yeah.
+
+## Harris interview
+Harris: Former attorney general of the border state prosecuted trafficking of drugs and human beings and Donald Trump Bret let me just fin.
+Bret: Six Democrats voted against that bill.
+Harris: Donald Trump learned about that bill and told them to kill it because he preferred a run on a problem instead of fixing a problem and in this election, which is rightly a discussion that the American people want to have and what they want are solutions and they want a president of the United States who is not playing political games with the issue.
+Bret: I hear you.
+Harris: Actually focused on fixing it.
+Bret: Six Democrats allowed 1.8 million illegal immigrants into the country a year. A lot of conservatives had a problem with it. These are the six Democrats. But, more importantly, back to the original premise. Jocelyn you think gather, Rachel Morin, Laken Riley, young women brutally assaulted and killed by some of the men who were released at the beginning of the administration. Well before a negotiated bipartisan bill. Former President Clinton actually referred to Laken Riley Sunday, campaigning for you in Georgia saying if those men had been properly vetted, Laken Riley probably would not have been killed. So, if it wouldn't have happened, this is well before any negotiation, this is well before Donald Trump got involved in the politics, this is a specific policy decision by your administration to release these men into the country, so what I'm saying to you do you.
+Harris: I think it's really.
+Bret: Owe those families an apology?
+Harris: Let me just say first of all, those are tragic cases. There's no question about that. There is no question about that. And I can't imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced. For a loss that should not have occurred. So, that is true. It is also true that if a border security had actually been passed nine months ago, it would be nine months that we would have had more border agents at the border, more support for the folks who are working around the clock trying to hold it all together.
+Bret: Madam Vice President --
+Harris: -- To ensure that no future harm would occur. And this election in 20 days, will determine whether we have a president of the United States who actually cares more about fixing a problem even if it is not to their political advantage in an election. Because there was a solution, Bret.
+Bret: Madam Vice President it was a policy decision in the early part of your administration. I will let one of the mothers talk about it. Take a listen.
+Bret: That's the early days are you.
+Harris: I'm so sorry for her loss. I'm so sorry for her loss. Sincerely. But let's talk about what is happening right now with an individual who does not want to participate in solutions let's talk about that as well.
+Bret: Do you want to answer her?
+Harris: I told you I feel awful for what she and her family have experienced.
+Bret: During that time you said repeatedly that the border was secure when in your mind did it start going a crisis.
+Harris: We have had a broken border system trapped sending even before. Even before. Let's be honest about that. I have no pride in saying this is a perfect immigration system. I have been clear, I think we all are that it needs to be fixed. We need more -- I was just down at the border talking with border agents. And they will tell you and I'm sure you probably -- I know you investigate and you are a serious journalist, they will tell you we need more judges. We need to -- we need to process those cases faster. We need the support for those cases that should be prosecuted. They need more resources. And Congress ultimately is the only place that that's going to get fixed, Bret. That's how the system works.
+Bret: That's the premise of this question. There were 90 plus executive orders rescinded in the first days. Many of those were Trump border policies. I'm not going to stay here because there is other things to talk about. But you frequently talk to the border patrol union for support of that bipartisan bill and they did. They supported it. But they also just endorsed Donald Trump and said you have been, quote, a failure with border security. Why do you think they said that?
+Harris: I think they are frustrated. And I get it. They want support. They want support and that's what that border security bill would have done. These guys down at the border, these men and women, they are working hard. They are working around the clock. I get it.
+Bret: There is a lot of people look back what you said 2019 when you first ran for president. And there have been changes and you talked about some of them. When it comes to immigration, you supported allowing immigrants in the country illegally to apply for drivers licenses to qualify for free tuition at universities, to be enrolled in free healthcare. Do you still support those things?
+
+## Harris interview
+Harris: Listen, that was five years ago. And I'm very clear that I will follow the law. I have made that statement over and over again. And as Vice President of the United States that's exactly what I have done. Not to mention before.
+Bret: If that's the case, you chose a running mate, Tim Walz Governor of Minnesota, who signed those very things into state law. So do you support that?
+Harris: We are very clear and I am very clear as is Tim Walz that we must support and enforce federal law and that is exactly what we will do.
+Bret: So decriminalizing border crossings like you said in 2019 --
+Harris: -- I do not believe in decriminalizing border crossings. And I have not done that as Vice President. I will not do that as President.
+Bret: So these are evolutions that you have had.
+Harris: Let's be very clear I'm the only person running for president who has prosecuted trans narbled criminal from the Sinaloa from Grad La Harrahs cartel people trafficked in guns, drugs and human beings. I have spent a significant part of my career going after people who present a threat to the safety of the American people and in cross our border in intent of doing us harm and. I will do it as Vice President. I take that work quite seriously.
+Bret: This is a time when voters especially in Pennsylvania inundated with commercials and ads. They want it to stop because it's every commercial. Every of them add noise. Few of them seem to breakthrough. This particular one from the Trump campaign has gotten a lot of attention.
+Bret: Are you still in support of using taxpayer dollars to illegal aliens on inmates to transgender.
+Harris: I will follow a law. A law that Donald Trump actually followed. Your probably familiar with now it's a public report that under Donald Trump's administration, these surgeries were available to on a medical necessity basis to people in the federal prison system. And I think, frankly, that ad from the Trump campaign is a little bit of like throwing, you know, stones when you are living in a glass house.
+Bret: The Trump aides say he never advocated for that prison policy and no transgender happened during his administration. No surgeries happened in his presidency, so would you still advocate for using taxpayer dollars for gender reassignment surgeries?
+Harris: I will follow the law.
+Bret: You have a say.
+Harris: As Donald Trump say he did.
+Bret: You would have a say as President.
+Harris: Like I said, I think he spent $20 million on those ads trying to create a sense of fear in the voters because he actually has no plan in this election that is about focusing on the needs of the American people $20 million on that ad issue that relates to the biggest issue that effect the American people? It's really quite remote. And, again, his policy was no different. Look at where we are though.
+Bret: They say it's different move move on.
+Harris: I'm offering a plan to deal with affordable housing. I'm offering a plan to deal with what we need to do with strengthen small businesses which are the backbone of America's economy. I'm offering a plan that is about taking care of young parents and giving them the support they need. My plans for the economy will strengthen the economy as have been reviewed by 16 Nobel lawyers, Goldman Sachs, Moods and recently the "Wall Street Journal" have all studied our plans and indicated my plans for our economy strengthen our economy his would make them weaker.
+
+## Harris interview
+Bret: Why do you think more people say.
+Harris: Invite recession by the middle of next year. Those are the facts.
+Bret: Why do more people trust him on the economy than trust you?
+Harris: I think when you look at an analysis of our plans for what we would do as president of the United States it has been clear to those who study and understand how economic policy works moving forward I believe the American people are ready to turn the page on the divisiveness and the type of rhetoric that has come out of Donald Trump. People are ready to chart a new way forward. They want a president who has a plan for the future and a plan that is sound and will strengthen our country. My plan for the economy does exactly that. His plan would be, again, to give tax cuts to billionaires and the biggest corporations in our country and blow up our deficit.
+Bret: It's interesting you said turn the page, Madam Vice President. You were asked on two different shows last week what if anything you would do differently than President Biden. Here's what you said.
+Bret: So, you're not Joe Biden, you're not Donald Trump, but nothing comes to mind that you would do differently?
+Harris: Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency: and, like every new president that comes in to office I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas. I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C. I invite ideas whether it be from the Republicans who are supporting me who were just on stage with me minutes ago, and the business sector, and others who can contribute to the decisions that I make about, for example, my plan for increasing the supply of housing in America and bringing down the cost of housing. Addressing the issue of small businesses which is about working with the private sector to bring more capital and access to capital to our small business leaders, including my plan for a $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time home buyers and for small businesses extending the tax deduction from $5,000 to $50,000.
+Bret: We have heard a lot about those plans in recent days. Your campaign slogan is a new way forward and time to turn the page. You have been Vice President for three and a half years, so, what are you turning the page from?
+Harris: Well, first of all, turning the page from the last decade in which we have been burdened with the kind of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump that has been designed and implemented to divide our country and have Americans literally point fingers at each other. Rhetoric and an approach to leadership that suggests that the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of what we all know the strength of leadership is based on who you lift up. The strength of an American Vice President which is one who understands that the vast majority of us have more in common than what separates us.
+Bret: Madam Vice President more than.
+Harris: Turning the page that is about turning the page on rhetoric that people are frankly exhausted of, Bret.
+Bret: More than 70% of people tell the country is on the wrong track. They say the country is on the wrong track. If it's on the wrong track, that track follows three and a half years of you being Vice President and President Biden being President. That is what they're saying, 79% of them. Why are they saying that if you are turning the page, you have been in office for three and a half years.
+Harris: And Donald Trump has been running for office since.
+Bret: You have been the person holding the office, Madam Vice President.
+Harris: Come on, you and I both know what I'm talking about.
+Bret: I actually don't. What are you talking about?
+Harris: What I'm talking about is that over the last decade.
+Bret: You have the lever of power.
+Harris: But, listen, over the last decade, it is clear to me and certainly the Republicans who are on stage with me. Former chief of staff to the President, Donald Trump. Former defense secretary, national security adviser and his vice president, one that he is unfit to serve that he is unstable, that he is dangerous, and that people are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances and it being about him and American people.
+Bret: If that's the case.
+Harris: People are tired of that.
+Bret: If that's the case why is half the country supporting him? Why is he beating you in a lot of swing states? Why, if he is as bad as you say that half of this country is now supporting this person who could be the 47th President of the United States? Why is that happening?
+Harris: This is an election for President of the United States. It's not supposed to be easy.
+Bret: I know.
+Harris: It's not supposed to be. It is not supposed to be a cake walk.
+Bret: Are they misguided the 50%? Are they stupid?
+Harris: Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people. And, in fact, when you listen to Donald Trump, if you watch any of his rallies, he is the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish. The American people. He is the one who talks about an enemy within -- an enemy within talking about the American people, suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people.
+Bret: We asked that question to the former President today, Harris Faulkner had a town hall. And this is how he responded.
+
+Harris: Bret, I'm sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the enemy within that he has repeated when he is speaking about the American people. That's not what you just showed.
+Bret: He was asked about that specific --
+Harris: -- That's not just what you just showed in fairness and respect to you.
+Bret: That was a question that we asked him.
+Harris: You didn't show that. Here's the bottom line. He has repeated it many times. You and I both know that and you and I both know that he has talked about turning the American military on the American people. He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protests. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy. And in a democracy the President of the United States in the United States of America should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he would lock people up for doing it.
+Bret: Is he quote in the Bob Woodward book that way, yes. Let me ask you this, Madam Vice President.
+Harris: Let's not diminish the significance of that.
+Bret: You called Donald Trump is he misguided. You say now --
+Harris: -- He is unstable.
+Bret: You say he is unstable.
+Harris: Is he unstable, Bret.
+Bret: You say he is unwell and mentally not stable.
+Harris: Is he not stable and we should all be concerned.
+Bret: That Joe Biden was on his game. That ran around circles on his staff. When did you first notice that President Biden's mental faculties appeared diminished?
+Harris: Joe Biden -- I have watched him from the Oval Office to the Situation Room. And he has the judgment and the experience to do exactly what he has done in making very important decisions on behalf of the American people. Joe Biden.
+Bret: No concerns raised?
+Harris: Joe Biden is not on the ballot.
+Bret: I understand.
+Harris: And Donald Trump is.
+Bret: You talked about it after George Clooney said within a few minutes of talking to President Biden at a fundraiser that he thought this was not the same Joe Biden. That we saw on the debate stage.
+Harris: Donald Trump is on the ballot.
+Bret: I understand. You met with him at least once a week for three and a half years. You didn't have any concerns?
+Harris: I think the American people have a concern about Donald Trump, which is why the people who know him best, including leaders of our national security community have all spoken out, even people who worked for him in the Oval Office worked with him in the Situation Room and have said he is unfit and dangerous and should never be President of the United States again, including his former Vice President, which is why the job was open for him to choose another running mate. So, that is a fact. That is a fact.
+Bret: Madam Vice President, two more things. You were asked on "60 Minutes" about the biggest threat that the world faces, that the U.S. faces. This is what you said.
+Bret: A number of experts said you would say China the FBI director had said that you said Iran. If that's the case, what do you say to critics who look at the actions of your administration and say you're not acting like Iran is the number one threat?
+Harris: Well, I will tell you most recently whether it was in April or in October, and several hours on each occasion that Iran posed a threat to Israel I was there. Most recently in the Situation Room in the most recent attack working with the heads of our military doing what America must always do supports and defend Israel in its requirement to defend itself and to give American support, to be able to allow Israel to have the resources, to defend itself against attack, including from Iran and Iran's terrorist proxies in the region.
+Bret: Right.
+Harris: And that is my commitment to that is unyielding and unwavering.
+Bret: Critics just say that you either relaxed or failed to enforce sanctions on Iran allowing all of this money to flow into Iran like billions in oil profits.
+Harris: Let's go back to Donald Trump who pulled out of a deal that would have actually put.
+Bret: But here.
+
+## Harris interview
+Harris: Put Iran in check and it was during Donald Trump's administration we had a American military base that was attacked where American soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries and Donald Trump dismissed them as headaches. Not to mention that Donald Trump.
+Bret: Madam Vice President.
+Harris: Treated and talked about.
+Bret: Past few years.
+Harris: Military service.
+Bret: Critics say.
+Harris: Suckers and losers. Has diminished.
+Bret: We are talking over each other I apologize.
+Harris: I would like that we would have a conversation that is grounded in full assessment of the facts, which includes, I think this interview is supposed to be about the choices that your viewers should be presented about this election and the contrast is important.
+Bret: Yeah.
+Harris: And on the subject of Iran I am offering what should be an important contrast that is presented for folks to make a decision.
+Bret: And there are critics to look at what the administration did and say -- and think differently. Madam Vice President, they are wrapping me very hard here. I hope you got to say what you wanted to say about Donald Trump. There are a lot of things.
+Harris: I have much more to say, actually.
+Bret: People want to learn but and your policies. That's why we invited you here.
+Harris: I invite everyone to go to KamalaHarris.com and you will see that I have 80 pages of policies that are quite comprehensive and should be accessible to anyone who would like to read them. And it includes what I intend to do about affordable housing, what I intend to do about small businesses.
+Bret: That's why we invite you had you to here where you were in 2019 and where you are now.
+Harris: America's military and make sure we have the most lethal and fighting force in the world.
+Bret: Madam Vice President they are giving me a hard wrap
+
+## Harris tweets
+I agreed to a second debate. Trump refused.
+I released my medical records. Trump has not. 
+I sat for a 60 Minutes interview. Trump backed out. 
+One has to ask: What is Donald Trump trying to hide?
+I am committed to be a president for all Americans. We have so much more in common than what separates us.
+As imperfect as we may be, America is still that shining city upon a hill that inspires people around the world.
+We know the deep privilege and pride that comes with being an American and what it means to love our country. And we will continue to fight for the ideals of our country.
+There was nothing “peaceful or patriotic” about what happened on January 6. 
+Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. With your support, we will defeat him and his dangerous agenda once again.
+Far too many Americans have to quit their jobs to try and take care of their elderly relatives. That’s not right. 
+My plan will strengthen Medicare to cover home health care for those who need it.
+A college degree is not the only measure of the skills and experience of a qualified worker. 
+As president, I will get rid of unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs—and I will challenge the private sector to do the same.
+
+## Harris Tweets
+In 1776, General George Washington crossed the icy Delaware River in darkness, achieving a major victory in the American Revolution. Not too far from that very location, delegates from across the nation gathered to compose the Constitution of the United States.
+Our nation’s founders often disagreed, but as they wrote our Constitution, they laid out the foundation of our democracy, including the rule of law, checks and balances, free and fair elections, and a peaceful transfer of power. These principles and traditions have sustained our nation for over two centuries. Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs have cherished, upheld, and defended them. 
+Yesterday, I proudly stood in that same place in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, with over 100 Republican leaders from across our nation who are supporting my candidacy for President of the United States. Those who formerly worked with Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, as well as Mitt Romney, John McCain, and even members of Donald Trump’s own administration. 
+We may not agree on everything. But we share a core belief that our democratic ideals are at stake in this election—ideals that our founders and generations of Americans before us have fought for. Now, the baton is in our hands. I am grateful to each person who has decided to put our country before party.
+This November, with your help, we will write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.
+Last night, a voter asked Donald Trump about January 6—a tragic day of violence where 140 law enforcement officers were injured and some were killed. Trump called it “a day of love.” 
+The American people are exhausted with his gaslighting.
+I am campaigning for every vote because I intend to be a president for all Americans—no matter their political party, where they live, or where they get their news.
+That’s why I went on Fox News last night.
+Growing up, our mother worked long hours, so my sister Maya and I would stay with our neighbor, Mrs. Shelton. She helped my mother take care of us, and we used to call her our second mother.
+Mrs. Shelton was a small business owner. Since I was a child, I have known that small business owners hold the community together. They hire locally, mentor, and are civic leaders.
+Americans do not lack ambition, aspiration, dreams, or the preparedness to do hard work. However, not everyone has the resources to turn their dreams into reality. 
+That is why part of my economic plan will give a $50,000 tax deduction to help entrepreneurs and innovators start and grow their start-ups and small businesses.
+Donald Trump has peddled harmful conspiracies about immigrant communities eating pets and spread misinformation about resources available to those impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
+He is a deeply unserious man—but the consequences of him having power are deadly serious.
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