Kamala Harris changes course, says she doesn’t support ban on fracking

Vice President Kamala Harris no longer backs a fracking ban, a campaign official said this week, reversing her previous stance on the issue.

The vice president told CNN during her 2020 presidential run, “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.

"And starting with what we can do on Day One around public lands, right?" Harris added. "And then there has to be legislation, but, yes, and this is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue and to your point, we have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the health and safety of communities."

But in a statement to The Hill, a Harris spokesperson refuted those claims and attacked former President Donald Trump over his criticism against Harris, who now appears on track to become the new Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden suspended his campaign.

The former president slammed Harris as a " radical, far-left extremist " and taunted, "She wants no fracking," during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class," the spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet.

“The Biden-Harris Administration passed the largest ever climate change legislation and under their leadership, America now has the highest ever domestic energy production,” the spokesperson added. “This Administration created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress we’ve made the past four years.”

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Harris's stance on fracking will be an important issue in Pennsylvania , a crucial battleground state that is second only to Texas when it comes to natural gas production.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Harris campaign.