Vice President Kamala Harris is refusing to answer why she claimed on the campaign trail that she doesn't support an electric vehicle (EV) mandate, despite her long-standing support for the idea during her time in the White House and as a senator from California.
Breitbart News reported that Harris' campaign Sent Last week, VP Harris sent an email to supporters claiming that “VP Harris does not support an electric vehicle mandate.” This claim comes after she has spent years defending, campaigning and pushing for an electric vehicle mandate.
Harris' campaign declined to answer questions from Axios on Wednesday about why they claim she doesn't support an EV mandate while supporting President Joe Biden's.
Axios Reports:
In a lengthy “fact-check” email last week that addressed several issues, a campaign spokesman included the sentence, “Harris does not support an electric vehicle mandate,” suggesting she had changed her previous position, without elaborating.
On August 28, Axios asked Harris' campaign to clarify her position and whether she would sign or veto a bill she co-sponsored in 2019 that included such a mandate for manufacturers.
The Harris campaign ultimately declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.
Harris as Senator in 2019 Co-organized by Sen. Jeff Merkley's (Oregon) Zero Emissions Act would require all new passenger cars sold in the U.S. market to be electric or hydrogen-fueled by 2040.
Similarly, during her run in the 2019 Democratic presidential primary, Harris detailed a plan to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 and ensure that Americans could only buy electric vehicles when purchasing new cars.
“[W]Harris' agenda at the time included the statement: “Ensure that 50 percent of all new passenger vehicles sold will be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035.”
As vice president, Harris supports Biden's EV mandate, which would require the majority of new cars produced and sold in the U.S. market to be electric or hybrid by 2032.
However, such a policy is strongly opposed by a majority of Americans.
Last month, a Harvard-Harris Poll found that 72% of registered voters opposed a Biden-Harris EV mandate, including 57% of Democrats, 77% of swing voters and 83% of Republicans.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
