‘Will Appoint Republican To Cabinet If…’: Kamala Harris During Joint Interview With Tim Walz

Georgia: In a new twist ahead of the United States Presidential Elections, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris made a statement that has caught attention in political circles. On Thursday (local time), she stated that she intends to appoint a Republican to her cabinet if she wins the upcoming polls, CNN reported. Harris made the remarks during her first joint interview with her running mate, Tim Walz, since accepting their nominations.
The remarks by the Vice President came in a joint interview with Walz on CNN.
Harris pledged to serve as a president for all Americans. In the interview, she expressed her willingness to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected. However, she didn’t specify a particular individual.
“I’ve got 68 days to go with this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse,” she said. “But I would, I think. I think it’s really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican,” according to CNN.
Harris during the interview also explained her change on issues like fracking and immigration. She said that her values remain unchanged, but her tenure as Vice President has given her a new perspective on major issues in the country.
“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed – and I have worked on it – that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.”
Notably, at a CNN climate crisis town hall in September 2019, Harris was asked if she would immediately ban fracking if elected.
“There’s no question I’m in favour of banning fracking, and starting with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands,” Harris had said at the time. By the time she had become Joe Biden’s running mate, she had moved away from that stance, CNN reported.
Speaking further, Harris said, “My values have not changed. So that is the reality of it. And four years of being vice president, I’ll tell you, one of the aspects, to your point, is travelling the country extensively,” she said, pointing to her 17 visits to Georgia since becoming vice president. “I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems,” according to CNN.
Following Biden’s decision to step away from his presidential campaign due to age-related concerns and a less-than-satisfactory performance against Trump in the June debate, Harris was chosen as the Democratic candidate. If she emerges victorious, the 59-year-old Harris would not only become the first female president of the United States, but will also be the second woman ever to be considered for presidency by a prime political party. Currently, she is second-in-command as the vice president.