An extensive interview with Harris – the nation’s first female vice president – will focus heavily on Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, in which five conservative judges said they no longer have a federal constitutional right to abortion after nearly 50 years of precedent.
As one of the court’s most important rulings in decades, it sent shocking waves into the nation, attracting high praise from conservatives and fierce condemnation from Democrats, who vowed to avenge their ballots this November.
Harris criticized the decision last week, saying it was a “health crisis” and joined Democrats in calling for action during the election.
“You have the power to elect leaders to defend and defend your rights. And as the president said earlier today, you can act with your vote and have the last word. So it’s not over,” she said.
The interview also comes when the Biden administration is juggling many other urgent issues both at home and abroad. President Joe Biden is in Europe for the G7 summit, where leaders are discussing, among other things, rising costs caused in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The administration has also faced the invasion in various ways in recent days, with several reports of additional US security assistance to Ukraine highlighting Biden’s commitment to supporting the country as Russia makes some key achievements there.
At home, both Harris and Biden have watched a nation shake by a wave of mass shootings in recent months while working to tighten gun safety laws. Last week, the president signed the first major federal gun security law in decades, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of Washington’s most contentious political issues. The administration is also battling growing warning signs of a recession.
Kevin Liptak and Donald Judd of CNN contributed to this report.
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