Kamala Harris' economic policies may largely mirror Biden's, from taxes to immigration

Vice President Kamala Harris would largely adopt President Biden’s economic blueprint on major issues such as taxes, trade and immigration if she becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, despite her previous views that leaned more progressive, analysts say.

But she could be more aggressive on antitrust enforcement, consumer protection and climate change, some experts say.

“I think she will follow the Biden economic script closely,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics.

That’s partly because “time isn’t on the Democrats’ side,” says Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics. The Democratic National Convention is a month away.

“She’s trying to position herself as a candidate of continuity and stability,” adds Brian Gardner, Stifel’s chief Washington policy strategist.

After Biden dropped out of the presidential race Sunday, Harris quickly garnered the endorsement of Democratic lawmakers and party officials, including Biden himself; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who had been mentioned as a presidential candidate. But she has not yet formally won the nomination.

Although she voiced more left-leaning opinions as a U.S. senator and as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2019, she probably has shifted to the center, at least on the biggest issues, some analysts say.

“As part of the (Biden) administration, she and her economic team have been part of the economic policymaking process,” Zandi says.

Here’s a quick rundown:

Taxes

Harris is expected to back Biden’s plan to extend the tax cuts spearheaded by former President Donald Trump in 2017 for low- and middle-income households but end the reductions for those earning more than $400,000 a year.

She also will likely support Biden’s proposal to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% passed by Congress during Trump’s administration, Zandi says. As a candidate in 2019, Harris favored returning the corporate rate to 35%.

Immigration

Harris has supported the bipartisan border security deal that would make it tougher for immigrants to receive asylum and empower the president to shut down the border if crossing exceed certain levels, Sweet said. Last month, Biden announced a similar executive action to limit border crossings.

The bill, blocked by Republicans in Congress, also would provide more funding for asylum officers and judges to handle border crossing cases.

Harris will likely face harsh criticism from Trump because of record border crossings during the Biden administration, especially in light of the role she was given to help address the crisis, Gardner said.

Late last year, Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, criticized Trump after the former president said immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." She said his words have been "rightly" compared to those of dictators such as Adolf Hitler.

Trade

Biden has kept in place Trump’s tariffs on a tenth of U.S. imports as well as many goods from China. He also recently imposed targeted tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles and solar panels. If elected, Harris would likely continue the existing levies on imports, Zandi and Sweet say.

Social service policies

Biden has proposed a long list of social service programs to make child care more affordable, provide free college tuition, and cancel more student loan debt. Harris probably would continue to push those policies, Zandi says, though most face long odds of passage in a Congress that likely would continue to be divided under a Harris administration.

"President Biden and I have forgiven more student loan debt than any Administration in history − $167 billion for nearly 5 million Americans," Harris wrote last month on X, formerly Twitter.

What policies does Kamala Harris want?

The Biden administration already has toughened antitrust enforcement against tech giants such as Apple and Google, moved to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and vehicles, and taken sweeping steps to protect consumers from junk fees, among other executive branch policies.

Harris, the former attorney general of California, could take an even more aggressive stance in those areas, Zandi says.

Gardner, though, expects Harris to mirror Biden's approach.

Contributing: Savannah Kuchar