Former Vice President Kamala Harris is once again capturing national attention with the upcoming release of her book detailing her brief 2024 White House campaign, sparking speculation about a potential 2028 run.
As political observers watch Harris’s next steps closely, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is focusing on her in his inquiry into whether top Biden administration officials concealed evidence regarding former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.
On an appearance last week on The Ingraham Angle, Comer strongly suggested Harris would soon be contacted by his committee. This came shortly after Harris announced she would forgo a gubernatorial bid in California and instead launch a listening tour across the country to engage with Americans and support Democratic candidates.
“I think that’s another great thing about Kamala Harris not running for governor – she’s gonna have more time to come before the House Oversight Committee and testify about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline,” Comer said. “So I think that the odds of Kamala Harris getting a subpoena are very high.”
During a recent guest spot on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Harris distanced herself from immediate electoral ambitions, emphasizing her desire to connect with voters rather than pursue office for now.
“I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now, they’re not as strong as they need to be,” Harris said.
“And I just don’t want to, for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people. I want to talk with people. And I don’t want it to be transactional, where I’m asking for their vote.”
Jonathan Turley, a Fox News contributor and professor at George Washington University Law School, told Fox News Digital that a subpoena would present difficult optics for Harris, who is widely seen as a potential 2028 contender.
“This is a tough question for Harris, who clearly has aspirations to run again,” Turley said. “The committee can compel her to appear. However, the optics of forcing a subpoena are not exactly optimal for someone who wants to run again for this office.”
Still, Turley acknowledged Harris would be a “natural” focus of Comer’s investigation.
“Harris held a unique spot within the inner circle of the White House,” he said.
Both Turley and former House Oversight Committee Chair Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., now a Fox News host, expressed skepticism that summoning Harris would produce significant new information.
“Is it worth investigating? Absolutely. Is it worth getting her take on it? Yeah. Is she going to cooperate? No,” Gowdy told Fox News Digital.
Gowdy, who also has a background as a federal prosecutor, predicted Harris’s legal team would likely entangle any appearance in a maze of executive and presidential privilege claims.
“That privilege has been invoked by both parties repeatedly during congressional investigations,” he said.
“Leaving names out of it, just for the sake of analogy, I can’t think of an advisor that would be closer to a president than his or her vice president. So, by the time you’re litigating whether you can compel a vice president to talk about conversations they had with a chief of staff, spouse, president, or the president’s physician — you’ll be as old as I am by the time that’s resolved.”
Turley noted that investigators would need very specific questions to prevent Harris from responding with vague opinions.
Gowdy agreed that Harris is a “legitimate” witness and said the issue of Biden’s use of an autopen, especially regarding pardons, “warrants further scrutiny.”
He cautioned, however, that enforcing a congressional subpoena can be challenging.
“Prosecutors can send law enforcement to bring someone in. Congress can’t do that. Judges can send marshals or deputies to bring a witness if they’re recalcitrant. Congress can’t,” Gowdy explained. “So your power is only as good as your ability to enforce it.”
A spokesperson for President Biden declined to comment on Comer’s subpoena threat when contacted by Fox News Digital. Representatives for Harris and House Oversight Committee Democrats did not respond to requests for comment.
