Which Republicans Might Serve in a Harris Cabinet?

For my Washington Monthly column today, I argued Kamala Harris should make a campaign promise to include a Republican in her Cabinet.

My reasoning? It’s the best way to amp up her outreach to on-the-fence Republicans and right-leaning independents (i.e. Nikki Haley voters) and offer an example of how she would differ from Joe Biden, without making any policy concession that could rattle the Democratic base.

And historically speaking, a little bipartisanship in the Cabinet is quite common. Every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama had at least one cross-over Cabinet member for part of his administration.

I don’t think Harris should commit to name any specific person to a specific post. Still, it’s reasonable to ask the question: Are there any plausible options for Harris to consider?

The answer is: Yes!

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The most Machiavellian move would be to pick a sitting Republican U.S. Senator in a state where a Democratic governor has the power to appoint a Democratic replacement.

There are only two states where that is the case: Maine and Kansas.

Three other states currently have a Democratic governor and at least one Republican senator—Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin—but those state laws don’t give the governor power to pick replacements from a different party as the outgoing senator. Also, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin are not exactly desirable Democratic cabinet members.

And neither Jerry Moran or Roger Marshall of Kansas, both staunch conservatives, are likely candidates for joining a Democratic administration (though Moran does have a bit of a bipartisan reputation).

Susan Collins of Maine, one of the last remaining blue state Republican senators, has a more prominent moderate streak. But she is often a willing partisan and rarely crosses the aisle when her vote would determine the outcome. Put me down as skeptical she would consider a Cabinet offer.

More realistic to me are some of the Republicans who spoke on Harris’s behalf last week at the Democratic National Convention.

Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles makes sense for Secretary of Transportation. Giles runs a city about five times bigger than South Bend, Indiana, where the current secretary Pete Buttigieg once served as mayor. (Out of 19 Transportation secretaries, five have been mayors.) And Giles has been vocal supporter of Biden’s infrastructure law and its funding of transportation projects.

Former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan, as a former healthcare company CEO, would be a good fit for the Commerce Department (but probably not Health and Human Services, as he has been critical of the Affordable Care Act.)

Other possibilities for Commerce include former GOP Representatives from swing states with business backgrounds—Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania and Dave Trott of Michigan. Neither spoke at the convention but have endorsed Harris.

As a veteran of the Air Force and Air National Guard, former Representative Adam Kinzinger is a plausible pick for Veterans Affairs. However, that job can be a bureaucratic nightmare and has damaged more than one secretary’s reputation. Harris might prefer someone with more management experience, and Kinzinger might not want the hassle.

Harris need not commit herself to any specific individuals before she’s had a chance to vet them.

But there’s no harm in nodding towards those who were already welcomed to the convention stage as examples of the kind of person she would want to include in her administration, as these are examples of the kind of “Nikki Haley” Republicans Harris is hoping will cross the aisle for her on Election Day.

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Best,

Bill

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