Fact Check: Kamala Harris Falsely Claims She Never Called to Ban Fracking

CLAIM: Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris repeated her claim that she never called to ban fracking when running for president in the past, during Tuesday’s debate with former President Donald Trump.

VERDICT: FALSE. Harris explicitly called to end fracking when running for president in 2019.

The debate moderators brought up the subject midway through the debate, asking Harris to explain her position on fracking despite previously calling for a ban.

“My values have not changed … I made that very clear in 2020,” Harris said. “I will not ban fracking. I have not banned fracking as vice president. As a matter of fact, I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking. My position is that we have got to invest in diverse sources of energy so that we can reduce our reliance on foreign oil. We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes our reliance on foreign oil.”

As Breitbart News reported, Harris has flipped her position on fracking, which CNN called her out on during an interview.

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris said during the 2020 primary. “And starting with what we can do on day one around public lands. There has to be legislation. Yes. This is something I’ve taken in California. I have a history of working on this issue … We just have to acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the impact on the health and safety of communities.”

When confronted by CNN’s Dana Bash with her past statements during an interview in August 2024, Harris said that she never pledged to ban fracking.

“I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020,” she said. “That I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking.”

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