How Harris and Walz’s policies actually differ from Biden’s

Ariana Baio and Eric Garcia separate the rumors from the reality

Tim Walz and Kamala Harris arrive at a campaign event (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

While Kamala Harris is no stranger to politics, her unexpected entry into the 2024 presidential election means voters quickly need to pivot from Biden’s stances to hers on key issues like the border, abortion, climate, the economy and immigration.

The vice president generally skews more to the left than Biden. In her failed 2020 campaign, she backed several progressive priorities such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

But as a presidential candidate and without a competitive primary, she will likely need to move more toward the center.

The Independent has broken down key policy areas to understand where Harris might differ from Biden.

Israel/Palestine

Largely, Harris and Biden remain aligned when approaching the subject of the Gaza war – advocating for Israel’s self-defense while recognizing the devastating human toll in Gaza. But Harris has indicated she would take a slightly more aggressive approach to pushing back on Israel.

In the wake of the October 7th attack, Harris and Biden condemned Hamas and voiced strong support for Israel. Both supported the US in supplying weapons to the country initially.

But as reports of widespread devastation in Gaza and a humanitarian crisis emerged, Harris reportedly privately wavered in her backing of Israel.

In December, Harris said she and Biden had been “clear” with the Israeli government that “it matters how” Israel defends itself. Then in March, she pushed for a temporary ceasefire, calling the war in Gaza a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

Under public pressure, Biden has become more adamant about a ceasefire but has yet to take meaningful action in holding Israel responsible.

Joe Biden meets with Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval Office (AP)

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, Harris said she voiced “serious concerns about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”

“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time – we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” Harris said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has urged Biden to recognize a non-militarized Palestinian state, said he believes Harris will mainly continue Biden’s framework for the region, should she be elected in November.

“I think when it comes to the elements of the Biden policy in Gaza, she’ll support the framework but the key has always been implementing those elements, including calling for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages right now,” Van Hollen said.

“I will say I appreciate her very clear public statement after her meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” he added.

Harris’s vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has both voiced support for Israel and urged Biden to call for a ceasefire and increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The border

What is likely to be a forefront issue for voters, come November, is each candidate’s approach to controlling the number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border. Republicans have blamed both Biden and Harris for failing to adopt stricter policies that would turn away many of the people seeking asylum, unlike former president Donald Trump.

Both Biden and Harris have said they want to adopt a more “humane” approach, undoing many of Trump’s policies.

But where Biden has succumbed to Republican pressure about stricter border policies – in what some perceive as a political move – Harris has walked the line between both sides.

Harris supports the bipartisan border funding bill that was nearly passed earlier this year before Trump intervened.

“For the first time in decades, Democrats are going to go on offense [on this issue] because border crossings are lower today than they were under Trump,” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a key Democrat part of the bill negotiations, said.

JD Vance pictured with a “Trump Vance” plane as he leaves Sierra Vista, Arizona during a visit to the US-Mexico border on Thursday (Getty Images)

“Kamala Harris did a very credible job reducing migration from Central America. And there’s a bipartisan bill that Donald Trump killed that Kamala Harris supports,” Murphy added.

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, the lead negotiator on the bill, said “the more [Harris] talks about the border, the better” but also expressed skepticism about Harris’s supposedly more aggressive approach to the border, given she had little involvement in negotiations.

Despite Republican claims that Harris was put in charge of the border – the so-called “border czar” – the vice president was never tasked with that. Instead, she was asked to investigate the root causes of migration from Central American countries like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

“She’s been a longtime supporter of Dreamers and the DREAM Act and also understands the needs of partners throughout the hemisphere,” California Senator Alex Padilla, chair of the Senate subcommittee on immigration and the border, said.

While Walz has minimally weighed in about border policies, he is likely to support legislation that gives migrants a pathway to citizenship, having adopted similar laws in his state.

The economy

Biden inherited an economy in recession in 2021 when he entered office. Since then, he has passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, increased taxes on higher-income individuals and corporations, passed a $1 trillion infrastructure investment, issued student loan debt relief and more.

All of Biden’s actions aimed to stimulate the economy, add jobs, and narrow income inequality. Though the economy is at an all-time high and the president has a record-high job creation, inflation steadily rose under his premiership.

Harris has largely taken a backseat role when it comes to economic policy implementation over the last four years, but is expected to build upon Biden’s economic policies, should she take office.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a notable advocate of economic empowerment for working families, believes Harris will prioritize families.

“I think she’ll focus on all the economic strains that families are facing right now,” Gillibrand said. “I think the cost of childcare is unaffordable for a lot of families. I think she’ll focus on things like jobs, the economy, how people can get higher pay, how can you get costs down. I think she understands the challenges that people are facing right now.”

As governor of Minnesota, Walz has focused on similar economic policies, implementing guaranteed paid family leave and providing more than $500 million in child tax credits.

Abortion and reproductive rights

Biden and Harris both support abortion access and have advocated for reproductive rights in their administration. However, Harris has a more consistent track record of advocacy.

Though Biden now supports a federal right to abortion and opposes state bans, his record suggests he has not always held those views. 

A practicing Catholic, Biden was never fully comfortable defending abortion rights. During his campaign, he leaned heavily on Harris as a spokesperson for the administration’s abortion rights policy and earlier this year, Harris became the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic.

Krista Bywater shows her eight-months-pregnant belly during an abortion advocacy rally outside the Supreme Court (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The vice president embarked on a “Fight for Reproductive Freedom Tour” for several months, where she spoke with people affected by abortion bans.

She has called state abortion bans a “healthcare crisis” and highlighted their negative impact on maternal mortality rates. She is in favor of codifying abortion protections under legislation like Roe v. Wade.

Reproductive rights are likely to remain a pillar of Harris’s 2024 campaign.

“The Biden-Harris administration has taken all the steps they can, using their executive power to protect access to abortion rights and other reproductive healthcare like IVF,” Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, a fervent supporter of abortion rights who previously worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic, said.

“[Harris] has made it clear that if Congress delivers a bill to her desk to restore the protections of Roe, that she would sign it into law,” Smith added.

Walz, similarly, supports abortion rights and has signed multiple pieces of legislation strengthening protections in Minnesota.

Climate

Harris and Walz are likely to prioritize environmental legislation just as they have throughout their careers.

As attorney general of California, Harris stood up to oil and gas companies, launching an investigation into ExxonMobil and obtaining a $14 billion settlement with BP for their storage of underground fuel tanks.

As governor of Minnesota, Walz pushed for renewable energy projects and set ambitious goals for the state to drastically reduce its coal and gas-powered plant usage.

As a senator, Harris was one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal. She also introduced legislation to replace existing school buses with electric-powered ones.

“She is passionate, brilliant and effective. I saw that on a daily basis and she cares about climate and children,” Senator Ed Markey, an author of the Green New Deal, said.

Where Harris has wobbled is her position on fracking, the process of extracting natural gas and oil from rock formations underground. The vice president once said she would support a ban on fracking but has since changed her position.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey said he believes the vice president understands the benefits of fracking in his state by serving as an alternative source of energy and job creation.

Evan Drukker-Schardl, an organizer with Climate Defiance, said the Biden administration’s position on oil and gas drilling on federal land could be improved should Harris be elected.

“Despite promises to the contrary, the Biden administration has approved many, many, many new oil and gas drilling projects on federal land,” Drukker-Schardl said. “We have called on Vice President Harris, should she be elected, to have her administration stop approving permits for new oil and gas projects on federal land.”

President Biden set lofty goals when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. He aimed to reduce emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2023; to achieve 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035; and to have a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

Already, the administration has passed the largest climate legislation in history under the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivizes people to use cleaner energy sources with tax credits.

“I know she [Harris] is committed. I partnered with her over many years on these issues and I really do believe that that’s going to resonate, especially with young people in our country who want to see real leadership on solving the climate crisis,” Markey said.