What Biden's Decision Means for the Planet
Including insights from Harris's Senate prosecution of a Trump appointee
Kamala Harris’s nascent presidential campaign is leaning on her experience as a former District Attorney and twice-elected Attorney General of California. Their message: Harris is ready to lead the electoral prosecution against Donald Trump.
Harris first caught my attention as a political force to be reckoned with when she was serving in the Senate in 2017. At the time, I was fighting the nomination of Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. In Pruitt, Harris likewise saw a man unworthy of office and worthy of her full attention.
While many Democrats opposed Pruitt, Harris landed the most effective blows. With aggressive cross-examination during Senate hearings, followed by an extensive “closing argument” on the Senate floor, she warned Senators and the American people:
“his past is prolog for the future”
Harris was right. Pruitt was an environmental and ethical disaster who would eventually resign in disgrace.
I have clipped two C-Span videos for you to see Harris’s prosecution of Pruitt for yourself: a short highlight of Harris using baseball analogies to attack Pruitt’s record of losing in court, and the full 25-minute speech.
As you can see, Harris is a persuasive prosecutor. Although Pruitt was narrowly confirmed, he won over fewer Senators than any EPA nominee in history, setting the tone for his rocky tenure.
What also comes through in the clips are Hariss’s values and her deep commitment to a strong environmental safety net that protects public health for all.
An Impressive Environmental Record
Harris’ environmental values are backed up by an impressive track record:
Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest investment in clean energy jobs, climate pollution reductions, and environmental justice grants in history.
Vice President Harris launched $20 billion in funding for tens of thousands of climate and clean energy projects across the country, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
In the Senate, Harris was a leading champion of the landmark Environmental Justice for All Act. The bill has not been enacted due to strong opposition from fossil fuel interests, but it has helped set the stage for much of the environmental justice progress that has been made in the Biden-Harris administration.
As California Attorney General, Harris held oil companies accountable. She also pushed federal agencies to do more on climate and defended good climate initiatives from attacks from the fossil fuel industry.
A Fighter for Justice and Action
When assessing what type of climate president Harris would be, I think back to her speech at the 2023 global climate talks. While much of her speech to world leaders echoed remarks by Biden, there was one section that was uniquely in Harris’s voice:
Continued progress will not be possible without a fight. Around the world, there are those who seek to slow or stop our progress. Leaders who deny climate science, delay climate action, and spread misinformation. Corporations that greenwash climate inaction and lobby for billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies. In the face of their resistance and in the context of this moment, we must do more.
Throughout her career, Harris has shown that she is first and foremost a fighter for justice who favors action. With climate pollution levels continuing to rise in the atmosphere despite the increasingly destructive reality of climate change, there are plenty of fights that need fighting and winning.
Biden has done more than any president in history to combat climate change. He will be a hard act to follow, but Harris’s impressive past is promising prolog for the future.