Harris: I'd Probably Appoint a Republican to My Cabinet

Kamala Harris (along with, somewhat controversially, Tim Walz) on Thursday sat for her first interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Five quotes from her interview with CNN:

• Bipartisanship: She said that if elected, she'll likely appoint a Republican to serve in her cabinet. CNN notes that for decades, presidents have named at least one member of the opposing party to their cabinets, but neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden did so. "I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion," Harris said. "I think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences."

• Day-one objectives: "First and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class."
• Changes to her policy positions since she ran for president in 2020: "I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed," she said. "Four years of being vice president, I'll tell you, one of the aspects, to your point, is traveling the country extensively. I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems." CNN details some of her shifts on fracking and immigration here.
• Biden's phone call: On the morning of the day Biden announced he would exit the presidential race, Harris said she was at home making breakfast for her nieces when she got a call. "It was Joe Biden, and he told me what he had decided to do. And I asked him, 'Are you sure?' And he said, 'Yes,'" she says. "My first thought was not about me, to be honest with you. My first thought was about him."
• On Trump's suggestion that she "became" Black: "Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please."

(More Kamala Harris 2024 stories.)