Former Vice President Kamala Harris believes her party is doing the “right thing” in fighting Republicans for healthcare concessions during the government shutdown.
Harris made the comments in an interview with the Associated Press during a Birmingham, Alabama, stop on her 107 Days book tour.
She also said she remains in contact with Democrats on Capitol Hill and has encouraged them to continue their resistance to the pending expiration of insurance premium tax credits.
“The Republicans control the House. They control the Senate. They control the White House. They are in charge, and they are responsible for the shutdown,” she said.
Democrats “are doing the right thing by standing up for working people and not allowing the Republicans to carry a tax cut for the wealthiest people in our country on the backs of working people in America.”
The government shutdown is heading into its third week with no end in sight. Republicans have blamed Democratic Party leaders for the shutdowns, since it would require 60 votes to reopen the government and there are only 53 Republicans in the Senate.
The National Republican Congressional Committee ran an attack ad that uses an AI-generated Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to say the words, “Every day gets better for us,” a part of a previous quote for him about the shutdown.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) sent the chamber home for the weekend on Thursday, ensuring the shutdown would not end until at least Monday next week. The House has been out of session since last month.
Harris’s current role within the Democratic Party has been debated. Since losing her presidential election bid, her party has soul-searched and is viewed by some as leaderless. Some like Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and JB Pritzker (D-IL) have stepped up to try to fill the void.
Harris still views herself as a leading voice in the party.
“I am a leader of the party,” she told the AP. “I take seriously that responsibility and duty that I feel” as the previous nominee. That “includes traveling the country talking and mostly listening with folks,” she said, and “getting folks ready to fight in the midterms” in 2026.
Harris aides told the Associated Press that she will help Democratic gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey with campaigning and fundraising. She also recently led a fundraiser for North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper.
KAMALA HARRIS RETURNS TO DC FOR 107 DAYS BOOK TOUR
It’s unclear if she will buoy her recent actions to a 2028 presidential campaign. Her book slammed many party figures and felt blunt, which some viewed as her wishing elected politics goodbye.
She insists that no decision has been made about her political future.
