Bass on filling Harris’s Senate spot: ‘I’ll keep all my options open’

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said Wednesday she will keep her “options open” regarding a potential appointment to a Senate seat if Democrats defeat President Trump in November and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) becomes vice president. 

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden named Harris as his running mate Tuesday, raising the question of who Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) may appoint as Harris’s successor if the Biden-Harris ticket wins. 

Asked about any interest in filling a potential vacancy if Biden and Harris win, Bass suggested she’s open to the appointment, but is focussed on the November election for now. 

“You know what, Joy, for the next 83 days I have one thing on my mind. After that, we’ll see. I’ll keep all my options open,” Bass said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid. 

Bass, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was also among Democrats on Biden’s shortlist for vice president. 

She cheered Biden’s choice in her MSNBC interview, praising Harris as a vice presidential candidate who will energize Democrats. 

“I think their roll-out today, when they walked across the stage, it was electric. And I believe they both are going to energize the vote, I think Sen. Harris in particular,” she said, noting the historic nature of Harris as vice president. 

Harris, of Jamaican and Indian descent, would be the first woman and first person of color to serve as vice president if elected. 

In addition to a potential appointment to succeed Harris, some fellow House Democrats have also floated Bass as a potential replacement for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), most recently in 2018.