WASHINGTON — Frustrated liberals are taking on Vice President Kamala Harris to sticketc to the centerbut recent calls from some allies for him to part ways with the popular, progressive financial regulator if he wins the White House have prompted warnings from the left wing of his party of a potential “breakout”.
For many in the progressive movement, whether Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan will stay is a key question about the party’s future: will she double down by taking on big corporations and breaking up monopolies and concentrations of power, or will she go away. for the reason.
“If Vice President Harris wins, the decision to replace Lina Khan and other executive officials will be the first major test of whether he wants to preserve the broad coalition built by the Biden-Harris administration or choose continued conflict with it. progressive instead,” said Dan Geldon, D-Mass., an adviser and former chief of staff to Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
With the Republicans He preferred to win the SenateHarris may have little room to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda, shifting the Democratic ideological battle to key personnel decisions.
“His decision on Biden-era executive officers will set the tone in his administration on whether officials will be punished for standing up to powerful people and corporations,” Geldon told NBC News.
Like Harris, potential flashpoints have already emerged in the final weeks of the campaign embraces figures like businessman Mark Cuban Khan and those calling for the ouster of progressive financial regulators like Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler. There are also billionaire Democratic mega-donors Barry Diller and Reid Hoffman He demanded Khan’s removalHoffman, claiming he was “waging war on American business.”
“After the election, there will be a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party when it comes to the economy,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Campaign Committee for Progressive Change. “So this is going to be a big fork in the road for Kamala Harris.”
Outgoing President Joe Biden hasn’t left the progressive movement, but he’s made a big plea to the left to shore up his support after the rigged 2020 Democratic primary. This has resulted in a strong working relationship between activists and key Biden officials such as the president’s first chief of staff, Ron Klein, and the establishment of progressive favorites in key policy posts.
That includes Khan, who has led a sweeping effort to clamp down on companies the FTC considers monopolies. Amazon and Facebook; went after drug companies for allegedly inflating insulin prices; and led the administration’s ban non-compete agreements.
Danielle Deiseroth, executive director of the progressive group Data for Progress, said her polling firm tested FTC actions under Khan and found that she was “really popular, even if most Americans haven’t heard the name Lina Khan.”
However, this aggressive stance has become a target for some business Democrats, including Hoffman, who see Khan as too hostile to free enterprise.
Avoiding the approval struggle
While the prospect of a Trump comeback has prompted progressives to rally around Harris in the near term, many are still worried about the party’s direction, particularly welcoming wealthier and center-right voters turned off by the MAGA-fueled GOP. . Will the Democrats continue to be a populist, labor-oriented party? Or will the electoral restructuring cause them to start serving business more?
If Harris loses, of course, Democrats will have bigger problems. But if he wins, activists and party stakeholders will look to what he did with Khan as a clue to how he sees the party’s future.
“It would be a strategic mistake for Harris to get into an ugly fight over Lina Khan’s future when there is already a strong consensus among Democrats.” “Moderate senators like Bob Casey and Jackie Rosen are actively campaigning on what the FTC is doing to drive down prices,” said a Senate Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic. “Progressives are ready to fight, but if Harris appeals to his billionaire donors, it will be his brand of prosecutor and the entire Democratic Party wounded in an unnecessary fight.”
Cuba’s call for Khan’s ouster prompted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to warn the “billionaires … trying to play toe-to-toe with Harris”: “Anyone who goes to Lina Khan, there’s going to be an exit. a fight broke out. And this is a promise,” he said he said On X.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also threw for Khan, calling him “the best FTC chairman in modern history.”
The Harris campaign declined to comment for this article.
There is inertia on the part of the progressives. Khan, whose term expired last month, may remain in the role until he is replaced. His ouster would not only enrage the left, but could lead to a confirmation battle with Senate Republicans over his replacement.
Some in the progressive movement believe that Harris should leave it there without being reconfirmed in the Senate if necessary. Khan enjoys wide support among Democrats and even some Republicans, including moderates outside the progressive movement.
“Khan has a lot of allies in Congress,” Deiseroth said. “Keeping it is the path of least resistance that will make most people on the left happy.”
At the same time, the cryptocurrency industry and its allies also want to replace Gensler at the SEC because he is skeptical of the nascent industry.
The main pro-Crypto super PAC Fairshake spent more 204 million dollars Regarding the 2024 elections a many new allies In Congress and in Harris’ orbit, including Cuba.
Harris himself has been relatively tight-lipped about his views on cryptocurrency, which raises concerns that progressives may have a hard time hearing his strong opinions and crypto skeptics without a well-organized opposition.
Jeff Hauser, founder of the progressive watchdog Revolving Door Project, said he hopes Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the current chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, will win a tough re-election contest to serve as a replacement voice within the party.
“The more it touches cryptocurrency, the less I trust his team,” he said.
Reflecting campaign themes
Progressives are feeling a little more comfortable about Khan after Cuba on Monday stepped back He criticized Khan and said he was not trying to influence the staff.
Geldon said Khan’s retention would be consistent with the populist themes in Harris’ campaign platform and messaging, which have been a key part of his pitch to voters. even as he campaigned against center-right voters with anti-Trump Republicans.
“The Harris campaign ads are largely populist, focusing on price gouging and other issues of corporate accountability,” Geldon said. “And that’s a strong indication that they want to continue the momentum built under the Biden-Harris administration.”
As with Khan and Gensler, progressives call on Harris in a divided government situation Rather than trying to find replacements that could be confirmed by a hostile Republican-led Senate, instead of keeping acting Cabinet secretaries and their deputies in place and using the vacancy law for recess appointments.
Current Cabinet officials may be asked to stay on to avoid a replacement battle, but at least some will leave key roles, e.g. Like Attorney General Merrick Garlandwhich has few fans on the left, for a number of reasons, including expectations that former President Donald Trump may be overseeing federal prosecutions.
Regardless of which party controls Congress, Harris, if elected, will almost immediately face the challenge of working with Republicans without moving away from his left wing. The new Congress and the president will have to raise debt ceiling and refinances the government early next year.
Some on the left are already preparing to force the Harris administration to ignore the nation’s debt ceiling, promoting commentary by legal scholars Michael Dorf and Neil Buchanan. unconstitutional.
Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive advocacy network Indivisible, said his group’s “very aligned” members of Washington see Khan as one of the most effective officials in the Biden administration when it comes to challenging concentrated economic and political power.
“If this were to happen in the new Harris administration, we would be pushing hard to make sure he stays there,” Levin said.