Twenty questions for Kamala Harris

I’ll spare you a tedious conversation about whether Harris owes it to the public to do interviews, or should put out policy papers that hit a certain level of detail, or is being politically savvy by offering this or that level of access. Instead, here’s a highly incomplete rundown of some of the topics that I’d be interested in hearing her address, rather than a spokesman or a surrogate or a background quote buried in a long newspaper story.

1) What is your top legislative priority? Everyone can have lots of plans and ideas, but a president usually only gets one or two big bites at the apple in Congress. Can you explain what you’re most eager to tackle and why?

2) How much continuity should voters expect between a Harris and Biden administration? Should we assume you would automatically continue any current administration position? Are there any areas where you have had disagreements with Biden in private and would potentially change policy as a result? Do you expect to keep many of the same people in the cabinet and in senior White House roles?

3) Can you explain how your perspective has changed since you ran for president last time? In that election, you embraced a number of positions on health care, immigration, guns, and the environment that you have since walked back to some degree. Why did you change your positions? How did you approach making policy decisions at the time and did you learn any lessons that you would apply to being president?

4) What is your plan for the border? You’ve endorsed the administration’s recent restrictions on asylum seekers and say you would sign a bipartisan bill that would add further barriers to claims at the border. What is your overall plan for border security, for people seeking asylum, and for people who are currently in the country illegally? If the executive actions are currently working to reduce border crossings, why were they not implemented sooner? Have your feelings on this issue changed since the Trump presidency, when you suggested decriminalizing border crossings and a possible “start from scratch” approach to ICE? If they have changed, how so?

5) How will you approach taxes? The Trump tax cuts will expire in 2025 along with major health care tax credits added under the IRA. You’ve promised not to raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. Are there any other pledges you have? What are your top priorities in negotiating a new tax framework and how would they benefit Americans? Do you believe taxes on businesses are too low? Should capital gains and estate taxes be increased? Should they be modified in some way to avoid deferring taxation indefinitely?

6) Why did inflation happen and how would you bring costs down further? Now that it appears to be in the rearview mirror, what is your overall sense of the 2021-2022 inflation spike? Does the administration bear some blame for spending too much at the end of the pandemic? What steps would you take to make sure inflation does not return and further lower costs for consumers?

7) What is your stance on the filibuster? If Democrats control 50 Senate seats after Election Day, should they abandon the filibuster as you suggested in 2019? And if so, should it be for only limited topics, like abortion or voting rights, or more generally to pass the rest of your agenda as well?

8) What specific reproductive health care proposals would you pursue if elected? When you say you would codify Roe v. Wade, do you believe it should keep things as they were right before Dobbs or include additional protections like restricting parental notification laws? Would you consider, regardless of your stance on broader filibuster reform, a carveout for abortion policies if your party wins both chambers this fall? If that fails to win passage, what other steps would you take at the executive level to ensure access to abortion?

9) How would you approach the Supreme Court? Should the court be expanded or is that a step too far? When it comes to your judicial nominees, what kind of traits and experience would you prioritize? Are there any so-called “litmus tests”: How they might rule on abortion, or on money in politics, or on guns, or on the environment?

10) What does the ‘care economy’ mean to you? Would you try to pass the same policies that were considered as part of Democrats’ Build Back Better bill — a new child care program, universal pre-K, expanded elder/disability home care, a paid leave benefit, an expanded child tax credit — or do you think there were problems with that approach? Would you look to create new social programs to advance these goals, or would it be easier to bolster existing tax benefits and programs instead?

11) Where do you think you are most likely to be able to work with the other side? Biden was able to sign bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, guns, and same-sex marriage rights. Are there areas that you see as especially promising for future cooperation? Both Biden and former President Barack Obama had a theory that Republicans would moderate in response to election losses — the so-called “fever” would break. Do you think that will happen if Trump loses?

12) How would you bring down housing costs? You’ve recently discussed capping rent increases and proposed subsidizing rent with tax credits while running for president in 2019. How do you ensure there’s enough supply of housing as well so that landlords and developers aren’t just raising prices elsewhere in response?

13) What’s your view on expanding health care? During your last campaign, you signed onto Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare For All” bill and later put out a different proposal that would cover Americans through Medicare over time but allow private insurers to administer plans. We’ve heard since then that your campaign no longer supports “Medicare for All.” Does that include both of those proposals? How do you define “Medicare for All” and what policies would you pursue to expand access to health care?

14) What’s your view on energy? Under the Biden administration, oil and gas production has reached record highs even as the administration makes major new investments in renewable energy and zero-emission vehicles. How would you treat fossil fuel production and exploration? Would you favor any new restrictions on fracking, or on exploration in places like Alaska? Would you consider legislation like the Senate’s recent bipartisan agreement that would ease the permitting process for a variety of energy projects? Do you think lower-emissions technologies will crowd out “dirtier” ones on their own with the right support; or do we need new rules to phase out combustion engines and power plants that burn fossil fuels more quickly?

15) How would you address criminal justice reform as president? Your campaign ads currently emphasize your career as a prosecutor. How would your experience inform your approach to the law? Looking at the state and city level, have Democrats found the right balance between promoting public safety and reforming the criminal justice system? Do you see any lessons to be learned from California and the Bay Area’s own debates on the issue, from bail reform, to the recall of Chesa Boudin, to the recent push for a ballot initiative that would bring back some criminal penalties that were previously rolled back? And when it comes to Trump’s legal issues, would you ever consider a pardon or commutation — why or why not?

16) How do you view the US relationship with Israel? Would you approach the Israel-Gaza conflict the same way as President Biden? Would you impose consequences if you believed Israel was not doing enough to protect civilians from harm? Looking past the immediate conflict, should the US withhold aid or offensive weapons if Israel does not take concrete steps towards a two-state solution? What would your expectations be towards Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and the West Bank?

17) How would you handle Ukraine? What is the US interest in Ukraine and is there a point at which that interest would involve asking them to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia? Is there a limit on US aid? How would you avoid getting into a broader conflict with Russia? Do you approve of the current Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory? Are there offensive weapons systems, or uses of those systems, you would not allow in Ukraine for fear of escalation?

18) What is your stance towards China? Would the US defend Taiwan from an invasion? Should we maintain, reduce, or increase our current level of tariffs and trade restrictions? China is still a leader in areas critical to renewable energy and electric cars — should we place restrictions on related imports even if it makes our own transition away from fossil fuels slower or raises prices for US businesses who rely on Chinese materials? To what degree can we create independent supply chains given how integrated the world economy has become?

19) What do you think of the administration’s antitrust efforts? How do you view Lina Khan’s tenure at the Federal Trade Commission and would you want someone new with a different approach?

20) What is your relationship to the tech world like? When it comes to AI, what do you see as its biggest potential and what are its biggest dangers? How would your administration look to manage its research and deployment? What’s your stance towards cryptocurrency? Do you think it serves a purpose in the economy or is it a net negative? How would you approach regulating it?