Some of Vice President Harris' supporters showed up at a technology-focused San Francisco fundraiser headlined by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday to support the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairman. He praised Lina Khan.
The reception, dubbed “Little Tech for Harris,” was hosted by Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, and Aaron Levie, CEO of enterprise cloud company Box.
During the event, some technology executives, including Stoppelman, praised Khan for leading the Biden administration's antitrust policy, according to people who attended the fundraiser. Stoppelman praised the administration's antitrust efforts, including the head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, Jonathan Cantor.
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The tribute comes as some major Democratic donors are pressuring Harris to replace Khan if she wins the presidential election. Meanwhile, progressives have warned that Harris would face an “outraged” response if the FTC loses the administration's support for pursuing antitrust and ousting Khan.
Harris has some ties to the tech community, having raised large sums of money at fundraisers attended by venture capitalists, tech billionaires and CEOs. The campaign received funding from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group.
Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Diller are seeking Mr. Harris to replace Mr. Khan. Mr. Hoffman, a major Democratic donor, even accused Mr. Khan of “waging war on American business.”
The FTC said it had no comment when contacted by The Hill.
Attendees at Saturday's fundraiser told The Hill that Levy portrays Harris as a pro-business, pro-technology candidate, while Pelosi paints the current administration as promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. He said he admired it. At the event, the former House majority leader also discussed the importance of immigration reform to attract new high-skilled workers and policies such as family leave and affordable child care to support work-life balance.
The fundraiser had raised $500,000 as of Tuesday afternoon, officials said. The event had more than 100 participants, officials added.
Ms. Pelosi has raised money for Ms. Harris before. A reception in San Francisco in August raised more than $12 million for the Harris campaign.
Her campaign announced in August that it had raised $361 million. Former President Trump's campaign announced last week that it had raised $160 million in September.
The Hill has reached out to the Harris campaign and Pelosi's office for comment.
