Kamala Harris says she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet

• Kamala Harris said she thinks she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected president.
• "I think it would be to the benefit of the American public," she said.
• She said it during her first interview since launching her campaign, set to air Thursday night.

Vice President Kamala Harris indicated on Thursday that she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if she's elected president.

"I would, I think. I think it's really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion," Harris said during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash that's set to air on Thursday evening.

"I think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences," Harris said. "And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican."

Harris noted that she still had to win the election: "I've got 68 days to go with this election, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse."

There are currently zero Republicans serving in President Joe Biden's cabinet, though he reportedly considered appointing one. But it's not uncommon for members of the opposite party to serve in a president's Cabinet.

President Barack Obama appointed Chuck Hagel, a Republican former senator from Nebraska, to serve as his Defense Secretary. And both Biden and President Donald Trump appointed members of the opposite party to other lower-level posts.

Since Harris launched her campaign, she has sought to reach out to Republicans and independent voters, including having former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois speak at the Democratic National Convention.

"While Donald Trump continues to attack moderates and independents, as well as Republicans he doesn't like, the Harris-Walz campaign has made clear that there is a place in our coalition for voters who reject the extremism of Donald Trump and want to put country over party," the Harris campaign said in a release later on Thursday.