In AP interview, Harris says Democrats 'are standing up for working people' in government shutdown

As Democrats dig in for a lengthening government shutdown, former Vice President Kamala Harris is cheering them on as she travels the country touting her presidential campaign memoir amid speculation about another White House run.

- by Bill Barrow Associated Press

Former Vice President Kamala Harris waves to the crowd before speaking about her new book, "107 Days," during an event on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala.

(AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

The Democratic 2024 nominee told The Associated Press in an interview that she remains in contact with Democrats on Capitol Hill, encouraging them to maintain their demands that President Donald Trump and the Republican congressional majority address looming spikes in Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums.

"The Republicans control the House. They control the Senate. They control the White House. They are in charge, and they are responsible for the shutdown," she said.

Democrats, she said, "are doing the right thing by standing up for working people and not allowing the Republicans to carry a tax cut for the wealthiest people in our country on the backs of working people in America."

It was just one example of Harris using her book tour to urge Democrats to lead a consistent, aggressive resistance to Trump while at the same time recommitting to reaching workingand middle-class voters who supported the Republican or stayed home last November.

Over the course of the day, Harris sat down for an hour-long conversation with five Black college students, spoke to the AP, and held two book discussions in Alabama's largest city. Paid ticketholders filled downtown Birmingham's Alabama Theatre, where Harris discussed her campaign, the Democratic Party, and the course of the nation with radio host Charlamagne tha God.

Through it all, Harris projected the aura of party elder and future candidate. She expressed concern for the country's direction and outright incredulity over many of Trump's actions. When VIP ticketholders told her in a photo line how disappointed they had been by her loss, she played it forward.

"We've got work to do," she said repeatedly. "Keep fighting."