Now atop the ticket, Harris pivots from some progressive policies
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Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Behind all the early excitement over her campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris quietly is dialing back several progressive policy positions she's held in recent years.
Why it matters: During the 2020 election cycle, Harris publicly supported bans on fracking, mandatory buy-back programs for assault weapons, and decriminalizing illegal border crossings. Now, her campaign says she's changed her positions.
The big picture: Harris wouldn't be the first candidate to change their mind on major policy ideas. Former President Trump has had flip-flops of his own.
- On abortion, for example, Trump described himself as "very pro-choice" in 1999, and as "pro-life" in 2011. More recently he's touted his role in choosing Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
Even so, Republicans are diving into a trove of past quotes and video clips to accuse Harris of being dangerously progressive — or insincere — for shifting positions on various issues.
- Harris campaign officials are casting her thinking as having evolved, as pressure builds for Harris to directly answer more policy questions herself.
Zoom in: A few days ago, Harris' campaign released a statement saying the vice president "does not support a total ban on fracking" to drill for oil and gas. Video clips from 2019 of her telling CNN that "there's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking" have been circulating on social media.
- A spokesperson said Harris wouldn't push a mandatory buy-back program for assault rifles, Fox News reported Friday, though she endorsed the idea more than once in 2019, including during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
- Harris also doesn't plan to push for a single-payer health care system, despite earlier proposing "Medicare for All," the Hill reported and a campaign official confirmed.
- Harris does not support expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, a spokesperson told the Hill last week. In 2019, she didn't rule out the idea. She has endorsed President Biden's recently proposed reforms for the high court.
What to watch: The GOP has latched onto the border issue, pointing to Harris' past support for decriminalizing illegal border crossings by making them a civil offense.
- Asked whether Harris' stance has changed, a campaign official told Axios that her position on border crossings is the same as the Biden administration's, and that "unauthorized border crossings are illegal."
- Biden recently moved to increase immigration-related prosecutions and leaned into potential criminal penalties for illegal border crossings.
- A Harris campaign adviser told Axios the vice president's positions have been "shaped by three years of effective governance."
What they're saying: "While Donald Trump is wedded to the extreme ideas in his Project 2025 agenda, Vice President Harris believes real leadership means bringing all sides together to build consensus," campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told Axios, referring to a conservative plan to dramatically reshape government and give the president far more power.
- "As president, she will take that same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions for the sake of progress," Ehrenberg added.
The bottom line: Harris inevitably will have to answer Republicans' criticisms over her stances during her unsuccessful run for president in 2020, when she was among several Democratic candidates to embrace progressive policies.
- Her changed stances appear to reflect her loyalty to Biden's policies as well as her attempt to win over moderate and independent voters whose support will be crucial to winning the presidency.
