President Joe Biden’s now-finished presidential re-election campaign amassed a small fortune — to the tune of $96 million.
And now that Biden is officially out of the race, many are asking themselves:
What happens to that money?
Conventional wisdom says his VP Kamala Harris (who he as endorsed) would get her hands on the campaign cash, right?
Well, not so fast.
Per a report from The Hill, Sean Cooksey, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), suggested Monday that Harris may not be able to access the millions of dollars remaining from President Biden’s campaign, which many campaign finance lawyers say is rightfully hers.
Biden’s campaign had just under $96 million in cash on hand as of June 30, according to its most recent report to the FEC, and filed paperwork to change its name from “Biden for President” to “Harris for President” within hours of the decision to drop out.
Campaign finance lawyers previously told The Hill that Harris would be able to access the funds if she becomes the nominee. But Cooksey called the situation “complicated” and suggested it would be challenged in the agency and at the courts.
“I think it’s really complicated, is the short answer,” Cooksey told “Morning Edition” on NPR. “What he’s attempting to do is to give his entire committee, the cash and all the assets, over to another person.”
“I think it’s gonna have to go through a process, through the FEC,” Cooksey added. “I expect, there’s probably going to be challenges to that at the agency, and probably in the courts as well.”
Democratic Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum, who chaired the commission last year, pushed back on the suggestion that Harris would not be able to access those funds.
“It’s quite clear, Vice President Harris can continue using the campaign committee and its funds,” Lindenbaum told The Hill.
Cooksey told NPR the situation is “really unprecedented” and suggested private parties could file complaints or advisory opinion requests, acknowledging those processes are incredibly slow and there are only 106 days until the general election.
There is also the possibility that Harris does not become the Democratic nominee. If that is the case then they may be transferred to the Democratic National Committee or to a super PAC supporting the nominee.