CNN’s Erin Burnett Surprised by Kamala Harris’ Past Support for Taxpayer-Funded Gender Transition Surgeries for Migrants

CNN host Erin Burnett appeared taken aback during her Monday night show after learning that Vice President Kamala Harris had once supported “taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained illegal migrants.” Burnett questioned her colleague Andrew Kaczynski, saying, “She said she supported that?”

Kaczynski had earlier reported that in 2019, Harris, then a U.S. senator representing California, endorsed several progressive policies, including taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for undocumented migrants and federal prisoners.

These positions came to light through a questionnaire Harris filled out for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during her run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In her ACLU response, Harris argued that transgender individuals reliant on state care needed to have access to necessary treatments, which included gender transition surgery.

Take 3:33 of your time and watch CNN’s Erin Burnett struggle to grasp how someone could take the positions Kamala Harris has taken over her career.

Taxpayer-funded gender transition surgery for detained migrants?

Yup:

Legalize ALL dangerous drugs?

Yup.pic.twitter.com/vHeuKcWfWT

— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) September 10, 2024

She highlighted her work as California’s attorney general, where she pressured the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide gender transition surgeries for inmates. “Transition treatment is a medical necessity,” she wrote, pledging that she would direct federal agencies to provide this care if elected president.

Harris also expressed support for other progressive policies in the same questionnaire. She favoured decriminalizing federal drug possession for personal use. She advocated for significant funding cuts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also calling for an end to immigrant detention centres.

Harris has been criticized for reversing herself on several key policy questions as she runs for president. REUTERS

She argued that the U.S. immigration detention system was “out of control” and that the focus of enforcement should shift to public safety rather than “tearing apart immigrant families.”

In 2019, Harris staked out avowedly liberal positions on issues such as immigration and drug legalization. ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

These positions differ from Harris’s more centrist stance during her time as vice president and in the lead-up to her 2024 presidential run, where she is expected to secure the Democratic nomination after President Biden’s decision not to seek a second term. Harris’s campaign has not clarified whether she still holds the same views on these issues as in 2019.

Harris faced criticism for her shifting positions on various policies, with some accusing her of avoiding questions about her current position on key issues.