Kamala Harris Keeps Cozying Up to Big Business
A new report from the Financial Times says that Harris and her campaign have been reaching out to corporate executives and business leaders for their support against Donald Trump, and that the vice president may be succeeding.
Harris has met with several executives during her campaign, including Karen Lynch of CVS, Ryan McInerney of Visa, Charles Phillips of Infor, and Greg Brown of Motorola, according to the Times.
A number of executives announced on Friday the formation of Business Leaders for Harris to raise money for the vice president. These include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, billionaire tech and health care entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express who now heads a private equity firm. Chenault was even given a prominent speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Two finance executives who spoke to the Times said that Harris told them that they expect her to make appointments to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission who weren’t as tough as the agencies’ current respective heads, Gary Gensler and Lina Khan—both of whom have been remarkably succesful at reorienting their departments to go after corporate consolidation and crack down on malfeasance. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, another Harris ally, has also suggested that Harris would be friendlier to big business.
On top of that, Harris’s brother-in-law and close adviser, Tony West, is the CEO of Uber, a company whose reliance on independent contractors and opposition to worker organization has drawn the ire of labor unions. In fact, the Teamsters’ surprising decision not to endorse Harris may have been influenced by West’s proximity to her.
Harris and Gensler’s stances on antitrust policy and workers’ rights have drawn praise from the left. Khan has become something of a progressive favorite for her pro-worker policies as head of the FTC, and Harris courting executives who dislike her will not go over with pro-labor voters. While not as popular, Gensler has taken on the crypto industry and ticked off business executives with new financial disclosure rules. It remains to be seen whether Harris will back them and continue with President Biden’s policies.