Major changes to America’s electoral institutions are coming if Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wins the vice presidency. Those plans were reportedly unveiled at a recent high-dollar Democratic fundraiser during which the Harris running mate said he believes the Electoral College “needs to go” by the next presidential election.
Walz’s shocking aspiration came during a fundraiser at the home of California Governor Gavin Newsom where a receptive Sacramento crowd listened as the midwestern executive expounded on his plans to fundamentally transform America if elected. Since joining Vice President Kamala Harris’s ticket in August, Gov. Walz has made a steady series of promises that progressives are praying come to fruition next year.
Under Walz’s plans, the Supreme Court, a top target of Democrats this election cycle, would be expanded or “packed” with additional members selected by the next president, ostensibly Harris. Calls to add justices to the nine-member body have grown louder since the 2022 fall of Roe, prompting soul-searching among progressives who fear that the conservative majority is only just warming up. President Biden has also proposed legislation instituting an ethics code among justices, a mandatory retirement age as opposed to their lifetime appointments, and a rotating series of nominations that ensures each president is afforded the opportunity to leave his or her impact on the court.
Walz has also promised to push for statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., two Democrat-heavy enclaves that both currently enjoy just observational status in Congress. Charlie Kirk opined that Walz would also seek to “shred” free speech protections and enact a “mandatory” gun confiscation program, though offered no example. Kirk added that Walz as vice president would “eliminate” the benefits of citizenship, a nod to a recent surge in citizenship proceedings for asylum seekers and evidence of noncitizens voting in Arizona’s elections.
Finally, abolishing the U.S. Senate’s filibuster for good would be a key priority if Democrats secure the White House and majorities in the Senate and U.S. House as well. Democrats have promised to sideline the filibuster on legislative priorities for the first time in pursuit of codifying abortion protections into law, a move reminiscent of former Democratic leader Harry Reid’s infamous filibuster scrapping on federal judicial nominations. That move was ultimately upped by Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who allowed former President Donald Trump to nominate and seat Supreme Court justices with less than 60 votes.
Earlier this week, Walz was pinned down on Minnesota’s far-left abortion positions, challenged in a live TV interview to explain whether he would seek to nationalize limitless abortion protections as vice president. The first-time national candidate struggled under repeated questions to distinguish between his post-Roe, state-level lawmaking and what he would pursue in the White House.
“You signed a bill that makes it legal through all nine months. Is that a position you think Democrats should advocate for nationally?” Fox News anchor Shannon Bream asked Walz on Sunday. Walz replied by claiming that the restoration of Roe is the campaign’s official position, forcing Bream to note that Minnesota’s laws go far beyond the 1972 decision. “What you signed is there’s not a single limit through nine months of pregnancy. Roe had a trimester framework that did have limits through the pregnancy. The Minnesota law does not have that,” the Fox News host pointed out.
