Kamala Harris gave a rare interview earlier this week that made some news for what she said about where she stands on at least one controversial issue.
During a radio interview in Wisconsin, the Democratic presidential nominee confirmed she would support ending the filibuster in the U.S. Senate for the purpose of enshrining the right to abortion into federal law.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Charles C.W. Cooke and Jim Geraghty of National Review to discuss Harris’ position and how it marks yet another flip flop for the vice president.
Roe v. Wade Revival
Harris was being interviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio host Kate Archer Kent on Monday when she said she would support tossing the Senateâs 60-vote legislative filibuster for the sake of codifying Roe v. Wade.
“I’ve been very clear, I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe, and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris said.
Democrats, including Harris and Joe Biden before her, have campaigned on restoring abortion access at the federal level since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Retiring Democrat-turned-independent Sens. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) have both staunchly defended the filibuster and called Harris out for her position. To state the supremely obvious, eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v Wade also enables a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide,” Sinema posted on X. “What an absolutely terrible, shortsighted idea.”
Manchin, meanwhile, told CNN he will not be endorsing Harris following her comments. “She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy,” he said. “It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids.”
Filibuster Flip Flop
This is not the first time Harris has spoken out about changes to the filibuster. Back in 2022 as vice president and the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, she expressed support for getting rid of it to pass legislation regarding voting rights and abortion rights.
But it was a marked change from where then-Sen. Harris stood in 2017. As Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) highlighted on X, Harris signed a letter in April 2017 calling on Senate leadership to preserve the filibuster. At that point in time, Harris had just been elected to the Senate, Donald Trump had just taken office, and Republicans had control of the Senate.
âWe are united in our determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor,â the letter stated in reference to the filibuster.
Then and Now
In Cooke’s view, Harris’ about-face on this particular issue is revealing. “We’ve seen her go from ‘the filibuster must be cherished to save the Senate as an institution’… to ‘now that I might be president, get rid of it.’ What does that tell you about her,” he asked. “It tells me that she doesn’t actually believe in institutions at all. She doesn’t believe in rules at all. She has no conception of a neutral order in which she is but a small part. She wants what she wants, and she will say what she says in order to get it.”
“This is a great example of Kamala Harris’ fundamental dishonesty, hypocrisy, vacuousness, and thirst for power. There is nothing there,” he continued. ” She might not be answering questions. She might be dodging where she can, but this she can’t remove herself from because she is on the record.”
You can check out Megynâs full interview with Cooke and Geraghty by tuning in to episode 897 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And donât forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXMâs Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.