Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, we take a look at what kind of commander Senior Vice President Kamala Harris will be. Plus, senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur looks at how Sen. Mark Kelly’s stance on border issues could benefit Harris if he chooses him as his running mate.
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Harris’ foreign policy is a work in progress
By Courtney Kube, Dan De Luce, Andrea Mitchell, Abigail Williams, and Carol E. Lee
How Vice President Kamala Harris, now the de facto Democratic nominee, will lead the country as commander-in-chief remains an open question.
Interviews with nearly three dozen current and former U.S. officials who have worked with Harris and his team on foreign policy issues, as well as a review of his Senate voting record and public comments, offer limited clues as to how he might respond on some issues. High-risk national security challenges facing the United States
President Joe Biden has extensive foreign policy experience during his decades in political office, and former President Donald Trump has his own record of serving as commander-in-chief for four years.
Harris’s lack of a clear record on foreign policy issues — and no firm doctrine — is a notable difference, potentially opening up a front in the 2024 campaign to combat voters’ national security concerns.
Critics say Harris’s reticence is a sign of both his foreign policy outlook and his lack of depth of experience. Supporters say he’s tread carefully because he doesn’t want to publicly disagree with Biden and his aides, and he’s gained extensive foreign policy experience as vice president.
According to more than a dozen current and former administration officials, Harris kept his views to himself during Situation Room meetings and policy discussions.
His approach was shaped early in his tenure as vice president by what he saw as a mistrust of foreign policy by those officials, particularly when he opposed Biden’s resume and hard-line stances on key issues. Administration officials, from the Pentagon to the State Department to the White House, have sometimes tried to decipher Harris’ positions based on questions he asked on specific topics.
Five current and former officials said they believed Biden’s lack of confidence in his domestic security circle made him worry that presidential aides would leak details of Harris’ comments if he expressed any dissent.
Officials close to Harris also acknowledge that he was unsure of his foreign policy knowledge at the start of the Biden administration.
Read more about Harris’ foreign policy views →
Veepstakes: Kelly could help bolster Democratic ticket on border politics
By Sahil Kapoor
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly’s hawkish tenure before rising to prominence in the Democratic Party as a border state senator has led some Harris allies to see him as an ideal candidate to help neutralize what may be his biggest political weakness.
Trump has put immigration at the center of his lawsuit against Harris. Unlike other VP candidates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kelly is the only serious front-runner in a state along the southern border.
While he has been an ally of Biden on most issues, Kelly has also been a vocal critic of border security. He went after the White House for underfunding Arizona’s migrant programs and urged the administration not to change a Trump-era policy known as Title 42 that makes it easier to turn migrants away at the U.S. border. When the White House rescinded the policy in 2022 anyway, Kelly called the decision “wrong” and “unacceptable” in a statement.
“We have worked together on this in a very positive way. There have been disagreements at times,” Kelly told NBC News, praising “the administration’s recent actions and the results we’ve seen from them.” to put down border crossings, including executive action limiting who can claim asylum.
Kelly tried to deflect Trump’s attacks on immigration during a speech MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” On Wednesday, he criticized the former president for his role in sinking a bipartisan border security bill earlier this year.
“On their side, we understood that we have to get operational control of the border. I understand that, Kamala Harris understands that, and this legislation would do that,” Kelly said. “Our goal here was to pass this law and then get to work on comprehensive immigration reform. But that was stopped in its tracks by Donald Trump because he wanted to see it as an election issue. Like many other Republicans, they don’t want to solve this problem.”
Read more about Kelly’s borderline position →
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🎤 Off Road: In a combative interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, Trump questioned Harris’ racial identity and did not distance himself from Republicans who called him a “DEI recruit.” More →
- 🗣️ ‘A toy as a toy’: Trump also said in an interview with Fox News that world leaders would treat Harris “like a toy” if elected president. “They look at him and say, ‘We can’t believe we’re so lucky,'” she said. “They’ll walk all over it.” More →
- 🥥 Chat with JD Vance: Trump’s running mate sat down with NBC News for an exclusive interview to discuss his difficult debut and the vice president he wants to be. More →
- ✅ Seal of Approval: The United Auto Workers endorsed Harris for president after previously endorsing Biden. More →
- ⚫ Confusion Abroad: The killing of a Hamas political leader in an attack in Iran has raised fears of a flare-up of conflicts in the region. More →
- ✂️ Not so fast: Federal Reserve officials have said they are not yet ready to cut the key interest rate, despite signs that the economy is slowing. More →
- 🗳️ About last night : The dust has settled on primary day in Arizona, which has pitted Republican Kari Lake against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in one of the key Senate races this term. Elsewhere, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer The GOP lost its primary After backtracking on false allegations about the 2020 elections. More →
That’s all for the Policy Desk for now. If you have feedback – like it or not – send us an email politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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