In a further blow to Vice President Kamala Harris, the International Association of Firefighters announced Thursday that it will not endorse her for president in 2024.
The union, which represents more than 300,000 professional firefighters and paramedics, was the first to endorse President Biden's 2020 bid for the White House. long history Supporting the Democratic presidential candidate.
IAFF's decision not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 race comes two weeks after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, also a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, refused to endorse the president against the wishes of its pro-Trump members.
“Today, the IAFF Board of Directors voted by a margin of 1.2 percentage points not to endorse any candidate in the 2024 presidential election.” read statement From IAFF Secretary General Edward Kelly.
“Last year, IAFF took unprecedented steps to listen to our members on candidates and the policy issues that matter most to them.
“The IAFF Board of Directors has determined that if we act side by side as a union, we can better advocate for our members and advance the issues that matter to them,” he added.
“This decision is one we took very seriously and is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.”
Rep. Carlos Jimenez (R-Fla.), the only career firefighter-paramedic in Congress and a former member of IAFF, told the Post that the union's decision not to support it was a “major event” and that Donald Trump – He said it was good news for former President Trump.
“There was certainly a big struggle between some people who wanted to support President Trump and some people who wanted to support Kamala Harris,” he said.
“This is not the same thing that happened four years ago when we were the first union to support President Biden,” he said. “It’s a big change for the union not to show support.”
IAFF supported Democratic presidential candidates in every election from 1984 to 2012.
The union similarly did not endorse Trump in 2016 when he ran against Democrat Hillary Clinton. As the Florida congressman pointed out, IAFF endorsed Biden early in his 2020 campaign against Trump.
“I think the majority of our members wanted to support President Trump,” said Jimenez, who worked for the Miami Fire Department for 25 years.
“So I think today was a good day for President Trump,” he added. “This is the second major union to not endorse a Democratic candidate. This is a big problem.”
Jimenez, who represents Florida's 28th Congressional District, credits Trump's appeal to “the working men and women of this country” and said national security is the reason many rank-and-file members of the IAFF are supporting Trump in 2024. He said the problem lies in Mr. Trump's policy regarding security.
“He wants to bring back jobs. He wants to bring back American manufacturing. He wants to make sure our jobs don't go overseas. And he wants to bring back American manufacturing. “He's also very passionate about security and defense, and as a former firefighter, things like homeland security, national security and his support for public safety and public safety personnel are very important to me,” he said.
Jimenez argued that the “far-left policies” of Harris and Democrats are not to the liking of firefighters.
“Not securing the border is not attractive to firefighters. Posting bail for criminals involved in riots is not attractive to firefighters,” the lawmaker explained.
“This is record inflation, firefighters, these are middle-class people. It has a much bigger impact on firefighters’ families.”
