WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to say U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned during a joint campaign stop in the industrial city of Pittsburgh on Monday, consistent with the White House’s previous opposition to the company’s planned sale to Nippon Steel Corp.
The joint campaign event is scheduled to begin in Pittsburgh at 4:45pm ET. Watch it in the player above.
Harris is expected to say U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated, and to emphasize her commitment to always support American steelworkers, her campaign said.
That’s similar to Biden’s opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in March, when he said he would “preserve strong American steel companies, supported by American steelworkers.” But it remains a major policy position for the vice president, who has been relatively quiet on policy positions since Biden gave up on reelection and endorsed Harris in July.
Harris has since carefully balanced presenting herself as a “new force for progress” with strong loyalty to Biden and the policies he promoted. Her approach is very different, and in some cases she has been pushed to move faster than the Biden administration, but the overall goal of expanding government programs to support the middle class is the same.
Biden and Harris, who attended Pittsburgh’s Labor Day Parade, spoke on the campaign trail for the first time together since the surprising election upset that has reignited Democratic enthusiasm for the 2024 election. Biden, 81, has spent much of his long political career cultivating close ties with labor unions, but the White House said the president asked to introduce Harris in their joint speech — a reversal of normal behavior — because he wanted to specifically highlight Harris’ track record of getting results for union members.
Her campaign said voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania have been newly energized since she rose to the top of the list six weeks ago, with tens of thousands of new volunteers signing up to campaign for her and her Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Harris and Biden’s appearance at the parade, one of the largest in the country, was part of a drive through battleground states with just over two months until Election Day. Harris first traveled to Detroit on Monday to campaign before meeting with Biden in Pennsylvania.
Harris, 59, has sought to win over voters by breaking away from toxic politics and rejecting the caustic rhetoric of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, while also seeking to move beyond the Biden era. While Harris’ events have been quite different from Biden’s, which typically draw smaller audiences, the vice president’s agenda has been full of issues he has championed in the past, including capping prescription drug prices, defending Obamacare, economic growth, child care assistance and now his stance on U.S. Steel.
“We’re fighting for a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy, where every American has the opportunity to own a home, start a business, build wealth and create generational wealth,” Harris said at a recent rally, echoing Biden’s call to grow the economy “from the bottom and from the middle.”
Ms. Harris has pledged to work to lower grocery store costs to combat inflation, and has moved faster than Mr. Biden on some points, such as by offering tax cuts and incentives to encourage homebuyers and calling for an end to the federal tax on tips for service industry workers. But she has offered fewer specifics on major policies, instead remaining aligned with Mr. Biden on key issues.
The vice president briefly appeared onstage with Biden after he spoke on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention last month, but the two haven’t shared a microphone at a political event since Biden himself faced off against Trump. At the time, the campaign used Harris primarily as a spokeswoman for abortion rights, which they believe will help them win the election in November amid growing restrictions and worsening health care for women following the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
Since exchanging tickets, the two have attended official events and met at the White House.
For more than three and a half years, Harris has been Biden’s strongest advocate. Now the tables have turned, with Harris leaning on Biden, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to help her win the potentially crucial state. Biden, meanwhile, has kept a low profile since ending his reelection effort. He last visited the White House on Aug. 19 and has since vacationed in Southern California and Delaware.
But despite assuming the mandate to lead the Democratic Party, Harris has consistently stood by Biden. In her first interview since running, Harris spoke glowingly of Biden’s record and ability to get the job done, even as the events of the past two months have put him in a lame duck position in the presidential race.
“I’ve spent many hours with him, both in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room, and I believe he possesses the intellect, responsibility, judgment and character that the American people rightly expect in a president,” Harris said.
She added of Trump: “The former president just doesn’t have that.”
In an interview with CNN last week, Harris said working with Biden had been “one of the greatest honors of my career.”
Read more: Fact-checking Kamala Harris’ interview with Tim Waltz on CNN
The vice president also defended her administration’s record on the southern border and immigration, one of its most persistent and troubling issues. Republicans have dubbed her the “border czar,” but she has noted that she is tasked with trying to address the “root causes” in other countries that are causing people to cross the border.
As Israel’s war with Hamas approaches its 11th month, the vice president has appeared to speak out more forcefully about the plight of Gaza’s civilians, but he has also supported Biden’s efforts to supply Israel with weapons and work out a hostage deal and ceasefire.
Israel said Sunday it had found the bodies of six hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg Pollin, a revelation that prompted thousands of Israelis to take to the streets and demand a ceasefire.
Before their joint appearance in Pittsburgh, Harris joined Biden in the White House Situation Room to meet with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team and discuss ongoing efforts toward a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.