Kamala Harris' vetting team asked Shapiro if he was 'agent for Israeli government': report
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — As Vice President Kamala Harris considered choosing Gov. Josh Shapiro to be her running mate for the 2024 presidential election, someone from her vetting team reportedly asked the governor if he’d ever been an “agent of the Israeli government,” the Washington Post reported Sunday.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, wrote about the conversation in his upcoming memoir, of which the Washington Post said it was able to obtain a copy.
The Post said it’s the first time the Pennsylvania governor has spoken about the extensive questioning he faced as one of three finalists for Harris’ vice presidential candidate.
Shapiro reportedly wrote in his memoir that as he prepared to meet Harris in Washington, D.C., he got a call from someone on Harris’ vetting team.
Shapiro said he was asked, “Have you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?”
It’s a question the governor said he took offense to.
Shapiro said the questioner then asked him: “Have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel?”
“If they were undercover, I responded, how the hell would I know?” Shapiro wrote, according to the Washington Post.
Shapiro went on to write: “I wondered whether these questions were being posed to just me — the only Jewish guy in the running — or if everyone who had not held a federal office was being grilled about Israel in the same way.”
A spokesperson for Shapiro issued the following statement to the Post:
Governor Shapiro wrote a very personal book about his faith, his family, and the people of Pennsylvania he has learned from and fought for throughout his life in public service. The 2024 election is one small part of his much broader story — and the Governor looks forward to sharing much more about this book and the stories within it very soon.
The Washington Post said a spokesperson for Harris did not return their comment, though in her own memoir, “107 Days,” Harris wrote she didn’t think Shapiro would be comfortable as vice president and said he seemed overly confident about his ability to secure the job.
