Dem Rep. McClellan on Criticism of Harris’ ‘Gouging’ Plan: ‘Costs Go Down’ when Dems Are in Power

During an interview with CBS News on Monday, Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) responded to criticisms of 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ “price gouging” proposal by stating that when Democrats are in the White House, “costs go down.”

Host Lindsey Reiser asked, “Harris is receiving some criticism for her economic proposals unveiled Friday, particularly when it comes to the proposed federal price gouging ban. The Washington Post editorial board published an op-ed saying, ‘The times demand serious economic ideas. Harris supplies gimmicks.’ Economist Jason Furman, who was in the Obama administration, told [The New York Times], ‘I think the biggest hope is that it [ends up being] a lot of rhetoric and no reality.’ He worries about how it would affect supply and demand. What are your thoughts on her proposals, and do you share any of those concerns?”

McClellan responded, “Well, House Democrats are excited to work with a president Harris and vice president Walz on reducing costs and addressing higher costs in health care, in housing, in child care, in grocery bills, and we will work together to do that in the best way possible. But the former president is not focused on an economic policy that will help the middle class. He is more focused on personal attacks. His plan, experts have said, would amount to a tax increase on the middle class. And so, I am much more excited about what happens with a president Harris. When Democrats are in the White House, the economy does better, and — from not only the stock market and jobs, but everyday Americans and their costs go down. When Republicans are in the White House, the opposite happens. And so, I’d much rather work with a president focused on building an economy from the middle out that leaves no one behind and reduces costs and addresses their problems than a president who’s focused on being a dictator and helping his friends and sowing more chaos and division.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett