Kamala Harris says she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet

Harris noted that he still has to win the election: “I’ve got 68 days until this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse.”

There is currently no Republican serving in President Joe Biden’s cabinet, although he has reportedly considered naming one. But it is not unusual for members of the opposing party to serve in a president’s cabinet.

President Barack Obama has named Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, as Secretary of Defense. And both Biden and President Donald Trump have appointed members of the opposite party to other lower-level posts.

Since Harris launched her campaign, she has sought to reach out to Republicans and independent voters, including getting former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois to speak at the Democratic National Convention.

“As Donald Trump continues to attack moderates and independents, as well as Republicans he doesn’t like, the Harris-Walz campaign has made it clear that there is a place in our coalition for voters who reject Donald Trump’s extremism and want to put country over party,” the Harris campaign said in a statement Thursday.