Vice President Kamala Harris postpones Raleigh trip to visit Los Angeles
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday she will postpone her trip to North Carolina until next week so she can spend time in California honoring the lives of those killed in two mass shootings.
White House officials said Sunday afternoon that Harris planned to be in the Raleigh-Durham area Thursday to discuss the Biden administration’s investments in small businesses.
But after 11 people died at a Los Angeles dance hall and seven more were killed on two farms in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco in two separate, back-to-back mass shootings, Harris changed her plans and will now travel to Monterey Park in Los Angeles County.
The Biden administration has repeatedly called for a ban on semi-automatic rifles following mass shootings that have taken place across the country, including one that left five people dead in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh. (A Raleigh Police Department report on the Hedingham shooting indicated the teen shooter had two guns when he was taken into custody, a shotgun and a handgun.)
Nothing has come of those calls, though Congress did pass the largest gun bill in the past 30 years last summer after a shooting at an elementary school in Texas.
While Harris won’t be in the Triangle this week, the vice president’s office says she’ll instead visit on Monday.
Harris’ trip to North Carolina follows a report from the Census Bureau that showed more than 10.5 million small businesses were formed during President Joe Biden’s first two years in office.
“There have been more new small businesses created in the last two year period than in any two year period in history,” a White House official told McClatchy, though small business applications have typically increased year-over-year. The last time applications fell was between 2008 and 2009.
“Supporting small businesses has been a priority for the Biden Harris Administration and has been an area of focus for the Vice President,” the White House said.
Harris last visited North Carolina in September to promote the administration’s efforts to reduce health care costs and increase access, The News & Observer reported. During her visit to Durham, she was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper, Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal and U.S. Rep. David Price.
On Sunday, Harris gave a speech in Tallahassee, Florida, to mark the 50-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion case overturned last year by the Supreme Court.
In her speech, Harris spoke in support of reproductive rights and took what appeared to be jabs at Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for president in 2024, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
Harris also announced that Biden would sign a memorandum aimed at protecting legal access to abortions via medication.
This story was originally published January 22, 2023 at 6:26 PM.
