Harris’ Wall Street allies strategize on private call, Rubin, Lasry, Wolf among them

Harris’ Wall Street allies strategize on private call, Rubin, Lasry, Wolf among them


U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives to boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S. on July 24, 2024. 

Brendan Smialowski | Via Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies on Wall Street huddled on a private Zoom call Wednesday to strategize how to defeat former President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

The call featured dozens of major financiers backing Harris, and lasted over an hour. They include Avenue Capital CEO Marc Lasry, Centerview Partners co-founder Blair Effron, Lazard President Ray McGuire, former Treasury Secretary and veteran banking executive Robert Rubin, businessman Tony Coles, Paul, Weiss chairman Brad Karp, founder of 32 Advisors Robert Wolf, longtime asset manager Brian Mathis and Jon Henes, the CEO of C Street Advisory Group, according to these people.

Those who spoke to CNBC did so anonymously in order to speak freely about private matters. CNBC was first to report on the scheduled call Tuesday morning.

People on the call said it was the first gathering that had brought all of these major players together in finance and business since President Joe Biden dropped out the race. The goal was to start organizing a large scale fundraising effort in support of Harris’ campaign.

“We need to raise a ton of money,” said someone on the call, describing the first portion of the conversation.

Rufus Gifford, the finance chair for the Harris campaign, fielded questions and comments on the call, while encouraging people to give and help raise money for the campaign, according to people familiar with the event.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

The campaign said it has already raised over $100 million since Biden endorsed Harris on Sunday. But this call and others like it are clearly meant to keep the vice president’s fundraising momentum going in the weeks and months ahead.

Some on the call also encouraged the campaign to step up its efforts to connect with Black voters, according to some on the call. Others wanted to hear more from the Harris campaign, including a full agenda for the Democratic National Convention, another person on the call said.

There were also key conversations about where Harris stands on the war between Israel and Hamas, and her policy stances on economics and tech, according to people on the call.

Harris is expected to head into the convention in Chicago in August having already secured the roll call votes to win the Democratic nomination.



Source

Appeals court keeps order blocking Trump administration from indiscriminate immigration sweeps
Politics

Appeals court keeps order blocking Trump administration from indiscriminate immigration sweeps

A federal appeals court ruled Friday night to uphold a lower court’s temporary order blocking the Trump administration from conducting indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in Southern California. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing Monday afternoon at which the federal government asked the court to overturn a […]

Read More
Trump ‘soft, weak and afraid’ in firing labor statistics chief McEntarfer: Wyden
Politics

Trump ‘soft, weak and afraid’ in firing labor statistics chief McEntarfer: Wyden

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee called President Donald Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday “the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy.” “Bottom line, Trump wants to cook […]

Read More
Texas researcher faces deportation after being held for a week at San Francisco airport
Politics

Texas researcher faces deportation after being held for a week at San Francisco airport

Travelers outside San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, US, on Friday, May 23, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images A researcher at Texas A&M University flying home from abroad was detained for more than a week by immigration authorities at the San Francisco International Airport, sleeping in a chair and living […]

Read More