What Would a Harris Foreign Policy Look Like?
A former aide offers some hints.
If Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic nominee for president, as seems increasingly likely, she stands a good chance of being elected to the most powerful office in the world. And yet, much of her reputation and political career has been based on domestic policy. Her foreign policy outlook, priorities, instincts, and style remain somewhat mysterious.
The Bulwark asked Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and a foreign policy advisor to then-Sen. Harris, to shed some light on Harris’s foreign policy style. Shortly before the conversation, Soifer and JDCA chairman Ron Klein endorsed Harris for president. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Bulwark: Carl Becker said that every man is his own historian. Based on your experience working with Kamala Harris, what history do you think she would have front-of-mind when making decisions about foreign policy?
Halie Soifer: Given the moment that we are in, it’s clear there’s a direct through line between her domestic policy priorities as well as her foreign policy priorities. And it starts with the defense of democracy, rules, and norms. She has been a champion of democracy and the rule of law her whole career.
TB: Say a little bit more about how she sees the connection between domestic and foreign policy.Â
HS: She has played an increased role with regard to foreign policy in the past year. She’s had an extraordinary amount of foreign travel, especially this year. But I do think that her speech at the Munich Security Conference was not just an articulation of her foreign policy, but because so much of it also applies to her to domestic policy, it’s just there’s a clear through line. And really that means [an] emphasis on defending democracy at home and abroad. That is the foundation. And we’ve seen direct threats to that from Donald Trump.
TB: Based on your work with her, were there any periods or events in her life that you think particularly influenced her foreign policy outlook in general?Â
HS: As the child of immigrants—her father was Jamaican, her mother’s Indian—she very much believes in the richness that immigrants have provided this country. I started [working for Harris] in January 2017. So the first thing that then-President Trump did was the Muslim ban, and then [ending] DACA. And those policies went against her core beliefs.Â
I also traveled with her to Israel in November 2017 and got to see firsthand her commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship. It also had some personal meaning as well for her because it was now–Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s first trip to Israel. And I vividly recall as we approached the Western Wall his first time, her stopping everyone and placing the kippah on his head.
TB: Politico reported that early in the Israel-Hamas war, Harris was advocating that the administration focus a little more on the humanitarian issues in Gaza.
HS: The president and vice president have been in lockstep when it comes to every key foreign policy issue, including Israel and the war in Gaza. While I know there are efforts to find daylight between them, that daylight just does not exist.
There was a speech in Selma in early [March] where she spoke about this issue, and it was falsely reported as a departure from the White House’s position. It was not. She had simply changed the order in which she discussed the topic. She started with the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and then emphasized the importance of releasing the hostages and standing with Israel.Â
TB: How would you describe her general temperament about foreign policy? Is she more of an idealist or a pragmatist, more audacious or more cautious, more focused on short-term management versus long-term aspirations?Â
HS: I think she’s quite pragmatic, but she’s very much been a part of this administration’s foreign policy. She has served as the voice of this White House on the world stage.
TB: Are there certain regions of the world that she appeared to care more about or consider more important, or certain policy issues that she particularly grabbed onto?Â
HS: In the Senate, she served on two committees that pertain to national security. [One was] the Intel Committee, where, you know, besides the occasional confirmation that we would get, everything happened behind closed doors.
She served on the Homeland Security Committee. She did a lot of work on cybersecurity there, which was actually a piece of the visit that she made to Israel.
And then beyond that she really has been a leader on U.S.-Israel relations. She spoke to AIPAC in March 2017 and laid the foundation in terms of ensuring that others knew about her strong support of Israel, which predates her time in the Senate. She had been there twice. And when I traveled with her, we also visited Iron Dome batteries, really to understand the direct threats that Israel was facing, right on its border with Gaza.Â
TB: It is highly likely that she’s going to be asked at some point about the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Do you think that’s something she would defend the Biden Administration’s record on?
HS: She’s been an integral part of national security and foreign policy when it comes to this White House. So she will stand by the decisions that have been made in the past three and a half years.
TB: Moving to the opposite end of Asia: Biden has said multiple times throughout the last three and a half years that he would commit to sending American forces to defend Taiwan if it were invaded. Is that something Harris also believes?Â
HS: I don’t want to speculate too much other than to say that it’s important to keep in mind that she’s going to be simultaneously serving as vice president while on the campaign trail running for president. And I don’t see that as creating an opening for a new foreign policy.
TB: She does not have the reputation of being an easy boss. That’s something that has followed her from her Senate office to her presidential campaign, even to the vice president’s office—a lot of staff turnover. If she were to become president, how do you think she would go about choosing personnel?
HS: She’s done a pretty good job of choosing government officials to make up her team. In the Office of Vice President she has Phil Gordon serving as her national security advisor. He’s served in multiple administrations. She also has a great woman [Rebecca Lissner] now serving as deputy. As I see it, she has really hit her stride, especially in the past year. Whatever turnover I know has been reported, perhaps that was just about finding the right team. But now that she has, I don’t think that is any longer the case.