Vice President Kamala Harris insisted she was the “last person in the room” when President Joe Biden made a major decision, but a new report indicates she doesn’t question his leadership during major international crises.
Harris did not break with Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, even though her national security adviser, Philip H. Gordon, warned her that the plan could have disastrous consequences. according Washington Post columnist David Ignatius told reporters, citing anonymous sources.
That news coincides with a Wall Street Journal report that Gordon had advised Harris and the Biden administration to leave a residual force to prevent the Taliban from quickly taking control of the government.
But Harris ultimately sided with the president.
Harris told CNN she was the last person in the room when Biden made his decision to leave Afghanistan and that she was comfortable with that.
National security experts say Harris backs the president on all his foreign policy decisions
The vice president does not appear to have challenged Biden on foreign policy, as the president prides himself on his many years of service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Harris’s deference to Biden is strikingly different from what she displayed when Biden was President Barack Obama’s vice president.
Biden is famous disputed Obama’s decision to launch a mission to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and also advised him against maintaining troops in Afghanistan.
Harris has also backed Biden’s positions on the war in Ukraine, as the federal government has spent more than $175 billion on aid, weapons and ammunition for the country.
However, Harris is “not convinced” that it would be a good idea to allow Ukraine to use long-range missile strikes against Russia, the report said, even though Biden is considering it.
Putin warned the United States that it would be “at war with Russia” if it allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons and threatened a military response.
Harris has also backed Biden on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advisers say, noting that the vice president believes Israel has the right to defend itself but should take more steps to reduce civilian casualties.
Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force 2
While some saw the vice president as more considerate of the Palestinian plight than Biden, she carefully pitched her support in her speech to the Democratic National Committee for Israel’s right to defend itself.
Ultimately, Ignatius concludes, Harris would “continue the traditional bipartisan consensus on foreign policy” that would be challenged if former President Donald Trump returned to office.
Trump has promised to negotiate with Ukraine and Russia to end the war, if re-elected, and to re-establish a maximum pressure campaign on Iran.
“I think the best thing for the United States is to end this war and do it. That’s fine. Negotiate a deal,” he said during the ABC News debate on Tuesday.
Harris has spoken about the decision-making process with Biden during a interview with CNN in April 2021.
“Often when I ask him his opinion on certain things, he asks me my opinion and through that process I think we come to a good agreement. And ultimately, of course, he is the president and he makes the final decision,” he said.