- Vice President Kamala Harris recalled an acrimonious exchange with Mike Pompeo in 2017.
- At Pompeo’s approval hearing, she asked him if he believed in climate change.
- Harris was speaking at the Aspen Idea Conference in Miami about the Biden administration’s climate policy.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday swiped another Republican considering a 2024 White House bid, following her remarks in January. bashing Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
Talking about her time in the Senate, Harris recalled the “heat” she took after interacting with Trump’s appointees on climate change at confirmation hearings.
Harris did not mention the official by name, but it was clear from the context that she was. Mike Pompeo Confirmation Hearing In 2017, he became the director of the CIA. Harris, who had just been elected to represent California at the time, asked Pompeo if he believed in climate change.
conservative expert breaded At a hearing intended to interrogate the spy agency’s future leader, I wondered why Harris would ask about climate change.
“Basic fact: Humans need to eat food,” Harris said Wednesday, detailing her line of questions at the hearing. If not, they will move somewhere else, and it is always very likely that a community of people will move to a place where they speak different languages and pray to different gods, resulting in conflict. To do.”
Harris was speaking on the spot Aspen Ideas: Climate Conferencewhere she sat down for a session with Miami singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan to ask questions about the Biden administration’s efforts to combat the climate crisis.
At the confirmation hearing in 2017, Pompeo promised Harris that he would not participate in discussions about climate science, but would collect information on all threats to US security, including climate-related threats.
“My role is going to be very different and unique,” he said.
Harris’ remarks Wednesday come as Pompeo, who became secretary of state, is openly considering a presidential bid before activists, civil servants and businessmen come. expected to aim.
The Vice President delivered an optimistic message to the audience, touting the Biden administration’s investment in addressing the climate crisis through the Inflation Reduction Act, which has invested $370 billion in climate-related projects. Harris also bipartisan infrastructure lawoffering tax credits for electric vehicles and helping pay for wind and solar energy.
Since last summer, Harris has been a key agent in the Biden administration’s water policy, including the goal of removing all toxic lead pipes. It is one of a series of events that have graced the . Miami is particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, from rising sea levels to hurricanes.
“After living in Miami Beach for 38 years, we’re seeing changes,” Estefan said. “Our bays, our corals are dying. We’re dying big fish. Living in the bay, I’ve seen the water rise to an amazing degree.”