(RepublicanJournal.org) – President Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democrat nominee. Her own campaign is already off to a rocky start, though. Her GOP rival has filed a complaint over the way she’s taken over Biden’s campaign funds.
Follow the Money
On July 21, Biden finally bowed to pressure from inside his own party and announced he was standing down and wouldn’t seek a second term. Shortly after his withdrawal, he endorsed Harris to take his place on the Democrat ticket. The next day, Biden’s campaign changed its name to “Harris for President,” effortlessly switching its allegiance to the VP — and with that allegiance went an estimated $91.5 million in funds Biden had already raised. Added to more than $80 million Harris has already raised herself, which means she can hit the ground running.
That hasn’t gone down well with Donald Trump. For obvious reasons, Trump’s campaign would have preferred to face Biden in the election, because the president’s obvious mental deterioration made for an easy target. Harris stepping forward to replace him brings its own opportunities because she hasn’t exactly covered herself with glory as VP and her radical far-left politics alarm many moderates, but she does have the advantage of Biden’s large fund to add to her own donations.
On July 23, Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that Harris has improperly taken over Biden’s cash reserves. The filing seeks to block her access to that money and argues that because the funds were donated to Biden, he should refund them to donors instead of handing the cash over to Harris.
It also calls for a criminal investigation of the Biden campaign’s name change, calling it a form of fraud. In the complaint, Trump campaign counsel David Warrington called it “a $91.5 million heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash” and “the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation” in the history of US campaign funding laws.
What Happens Next?
Many election funding experts think Biden is entitled to hand his funding to Harris because she was already on the ticket as vice president. Former FEC chair Dara Lindenbaum, a Democrat, is a vocal advocate of that point of view, saying “it’s quite clear” Harris can use the money. However, current chair Sean Cooksey isn’t so sure. Talking to NPR on Monday he said the situation was “really complicated,” and said it would have to be ruled on by the FEC and possibly the courts. In what could be bad news for Harris, Cooksey was nominated by Trump in October 2020.
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