(NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden, after ending his campaign for a second term, is now giving his “full support and endorsement” to Vice President Kamala Harris.
But what about his campaign cash?
Biden’s campaign recently reported just over $91 million on hand, but allied Democratic campaign committees brought the total at his disposal to more than $240 million. Now that Biden is out, however, campaign finance experts have said that Harris could tap into some of that cash without too many hurdles — but it would be tougher for any other Democratic nominee to do the same.
The campaign was set up in both Biden and Harris’ names, meaning Harris also has access to the $91 million that was collected for their ticket’s reelection effort, Kenneth Gross, a senior political law counsel, and a former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, told the Associated Press earlier this month.
Speaking with Reuters, Saurav Ghosh, a lawyer at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said Harris would be entitled to use the cash for a campaign if she were simply to remain on the ticket as another candidate’s running mate, too.
In either case, a law professor cited by Reuters said he would expect Republicans to file a legal complaint if the money transfers to Harris, because she’s not yet “officially the nominee.”
If anyone other than Harris were to become that official nominee, the money might have to be offered back to its donors. But there are other things the Biden campaign could legally do with the funds — like donate it to the Democratic National Committee, according to Reuters. But the party would be in control of the money, and would be limited in how much it could spend (just over $32 million) in coordination with the new nominee, who would have no control over how the rest was utilized, Reuters reported, citing the Federal Election Commission.
Biden could also donate his portion of the Democratic campaign money to a super PAC, though such a group could only transfer a few thousand of that to a new nominee in a single election cycle. That money would almost certainly pack less of a punch, too, seeing as super PACs do not enjoy the same discounted rates for advertising as the actual candidates, The New York Times pointed out.
The Democrats, though, may not have to worry about those last few scenarios if Harris takes Biden’s spot on the ticket, just as he wanted.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement shortly after Biden’s endorsement.