Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a stepped-up role in the Biden administration’s abortion rights response after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.
Like President Joe Biden, Harris does few interviews and rarely speaks to the press. But in the weeks since a draft high court opinion revealed that the justices were poised to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling, Harris has emerged as a leading White House voice in the fight to protect abortion access across the country.
And again like Biden, Harris has urged voters to elect legislators who will fight to keep abortion legal in their states, change the balance of the 50-50 Senate, and give Democrats a shot at passing legislation to codify Roe. Before the ruling, a senior White House official told the Washington Examiner that Harris was expecting to focus on the November midterm elections in the months ahead, with the effort taking on increased prominence in the wake of the court’s decision.
WHITE HOUSE: BIDEN STILL OPPOSES EXPANDING SUPREME COURT DESPITE ROE RULING
In her first interview since the court ruled to overturn Roe, she said the decision shocked her and warned that it could extend to other constitutional privacy rulings. “This is not over,” she told CNN.
The first female vice president and a former top prosecutor in California, Harris on Tuesday stopped by a meeting with two state attorneys general to discuss efforts underway to protect abortion rights. The vice president encouraged the Michigan and Minnesota officials to use their powers to protect access to the procedure.
In the weeks and months leading up to the court’s decision, Harris has met with state officials, women’s organizations, and abortion providers serving areas with stringent laws on who is eligible for care. A day before the court released its decision, Harris hosted a group of attorneys general from seven Democratic-led states to discuss possible legal challenges to the high court’s ruling.
While Harris’s authority is limited in her role as vice president, she has a history of working on issues of particular importance to women. In the Senate, she introduced legislation focused on improving maternal health and has led the White House’s response since taking office, calling on Congress this month to expand Medicaid coverage postpartum, invest in rural maternal healthcare, and end surprise billing, among other provisions.
Allies have argued that her legal background is an important asset in the administration’s fight.
Mark Buell, a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser who has backed Harris since her first race for district attorney in San Francisco nearly two decades ago, said after the draft opinion leaked that the White House has an opportunity to lean on her expertise to galvanize support.
“This is a positive area she has a deep understanding of,” Buell told the New York Times in May. “And the White House should take advantage of her understanding.”
Biden’s press secretary pushed back on reporters questioning the president’s relative silence on the issue. Biden gave forceful remarks after the decision was published Friday but has left the media blitz in the hands of Harris and his top administration officials.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“No,” Karine Jean-Pierre responded when asked if Biden viewed his No. 2 as a stronger voice on the issue. “It has nothing to do with the — with who’s the best messenger.”
“When the president speaks, people listen,” the White House press secretary added. “It goes far and wide and it carries weight, obviously.”
