Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, a leading contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election, dodged several questions about the Democratic presidential candidate’s recent policy shifts.
The senator was asked about some of Harris’ past stances, including supporting Medicare for immigrants, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and banning fracking, but did not say whether she agreed with those ideas.
“I’ve been working on this issue for three and a half years now,” Kelly told Fox Business on Thursday in response to a question about Harris’ past immigration policies. “I’m the senator for the border. I’m on the phone all the time with sheriffs and mayors. I work with them. I work with this administration.”
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Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., declined to answer questions about radical policy positions previously taken by Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
“So, many of my border mayors really appreciate the steps that the administration has taken. What they don’t appreciate is that Republicans in the United States Senate are following the orders of Donald Trump just for the sake of the election,” he added.
Asked again whether he supported Harris’ previously stated positions on Medicare for illegal immigrants, decriminalizing border crossings and abolishing ICE, Kelly declined to answer.
In 2019, after losing her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Harris was asked if she supported Medicare for all, including illegal immigrants. “I am opposed to any policy that denies access to public safety, public education and public health to any person in our country,” she replied.
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On March 21, a group of more than 100 migrants breached the border wall in El Paso, Texas, attempting to enter the United States illegally. (James Breeden for the New York Post/Mega)
She also told hosts of “The View” during the primary campaign that she “stands by saying we’re not going to criminalize illegal aliens and people who cross the border.”
Moreover, when asked in 2019 about calls within her party to abolish ICE, Harris said, “I think there’s no question that we need to critically reexamine ICE and its role, how it’s managed and what it does.”
“Maybe we need to think about starting from scratch,” she added.
Harris has since retracted her support for Medicare for All and appears to have embraced more moderate Democratic positions on ICE, border security, and the criminalization of border crossings during the Biden administration. She voiced her support for a bipartisan negotiated border security bill that Republicans ultimately opposed, and her campaign said recent executive orders related to restricting asylum would continue under her administration.
Kelly said he “totally” endorsed Harris for her work on the border as vice president.
“And it’s right on the border with the executive order that we have now. Right,” he said.
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Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of mass migration from Latin America from the outset of the Biden administration. (REUTERS/Kevin Mohat/Pool)
When asked his reaction to Harris retracting her past endorsement, Ban on frackingKelly declined to be interviewed by Fox News Digital.
Harris’ campaign recently claimed she no longer supports a ban on fracking, with a spokesman saying, “Trump’s false claims about a ban on fracking are a clear attempt to distract attention from his agenda to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class.”
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Kelly is one of many candidates being considered to be Harris’ running mate. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“While the current administration has created 300,000 energy jobs, President Trump will lose approximately 1 million, and his Project 2025 will undo the great progress made over the past four years,” they added.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, fracking accounts for two-thirds of sold natural gas production and about half of crude oil production in the United States.
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“There’s no question that I support a ban on fracking,” Harris said in 2019 while running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Neither Kelly’s office nor the Harris campaign responded to Fox News Digital for comment by publication time.
Harris is expected to announce her running mate by Tuesday, when she will begin a four-day tour of battleground states starting in Philadelphia.
Get the latest 2024 election campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
