Vice President Kamala Harris is returning to Philly today. Here’s what you need to know.
This will be the vice president's fourth trip to Pennsylvania this year, and her 14th since being sworn in January 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Philadelphia Tuesday to deliver the keynote address at a union convention in Center City.
It’s Harris’ second trip to the Philadelphia region this month. Just two weeks ago, Harris joined Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph in Montgomery County in an event to highlight the fight over reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Tuesday’s visit comes on the heels of news that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will debate twice ahead of the 2024 election: June 27 in Atlanta on CNN, and Sept. 10 on ABC at a location to be determined.
Harris has agreed to participate in a vice-presidential debate on CBS that would be held later this summer, either July 23 or Aug. 13 after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trump’s campaign said it accepted a separate invitation to host a vice-presidential debate from Fox News on the same dates, though Trump has yet to announce his running mate.
Here’s everything to know about Harris’ trip to Philadelphia Tuesday:
Why is Kamala Harris in Philadelphia today?
Harris is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the 2024 Service Employees International Union’s international convention, which is held once every four years. This year’s gathering is taking place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City.
The vice president’s speech comes after the 103-year-old union elected April Verrett as its first Black president Monday. Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, represents about 2 million workers across the country working in health care, public service, and janitorial and security services, and pledged to spend $200 million to help Biden and other Democrats in the 2024 election.
“The reality is that so much is at stake for working people, and we will put our money where our mouths are,” Verrett told the Washington Post in March.
Harris chairs a White House task force on worker organizing and empowerment. Last year around this time, Harris participated in a moderated conversation with the SEIU’s international executive board in Philadelphia, where she promoted a proposal to increase wages for personal care workers and home health aides.
The vice president’s visit comes as early polls show Biden facing an erosion of support among Black and Latino voters nationally and in Pennsylvania. While Biden still leads with Black and Latino voters, his appeal has dropped since 2020, when the group made up a significant slice of his coalition. SEIU is known as a powerful political organizing union and about a quarter of the union’s members are Latino and another 24% are Black.
Will there be any road closures on I-95 or elsewhere?
The vice president’s public schedule hasn’t been announced yet, though she’s expected to give her keynote address sometime before noon.
There will likely be rolling closures on I-95 North and South as she makes her way to and from the airport to Center City. Delays and closures are expected in the immediate vicinity surrounding the Convention Center, according to a Philadelphia police spokesperson.
This will be Harris’ fourth trip to Pennsylvania this year.
Harris hasn’t been a stranger in Pennsylvania, one of five key battleground states that could end up deciding the 2024 presidential election between Biden and Trump.
Today’s trip is her third to the Philadelphia region this year, and her fourth to Pennsylvania. She’s traveled to the commonwealth 14 times since being sworn in as vice president, according to the campaign.
Harris’ other trips to Pennsylvania so far this year included:
February 2024: Harris traveled to Pittsburgh to announce new federal funds to remove lead pipes and improve access to clean drinking water.
April 2024: At the William Cramp School in North Philadelphia, Harris outlined the Biden administration’s latest plans to provide student loan debt relief after the Supreme Court rejected plans to cancel upward of $20,000 per borrower.
May 2024: Harris joined Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph to speak about reproductive rights following the repeal of Roe v. Wade at Salus University in Elkins Park, Pa.
Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.