Rattled by the endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to take the place of Joe Biden as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Donald Trump is working to block Harris from accessing campaign funds raised by Biden.
Reports by the New York Times said the Trump campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), accusing Vice President Harris’s campaign of improperly taking over President Biden’s campaign funds when he left the race Monday.
The complaint came after the Biden campaign account changed its name to “Harris for President” on Monday following the president’s announcement that he would not seek reelection.
“Kamala Harris is seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash — a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended,” Trump campaign counsel David Warrington wrote.
The suit seeks to block Harris’s access to the war chest. While most campaign finance experts believe that Harris has rightful access to the funds, as she was on Biden’s ticket as the vice-presidential candidate, it’s unclear what the FEC will finally rule.
Harris’s campaign has broken fundraising records since launching Monday, raking in more than $80 million in its first 24 hours.
The Harris Campaign brushed off the complaint saying it would press on with its quest to defeat Donald Trump in the November elections.
Meanwhile Harris has opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Donald Trump according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
That compares with a marginal two-point deficit Biden faced against Trump in last week’s poll before his Sunday exit from the race.
The new poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, followed both the Republican National Convention where Trump on Thursday formally accepted the nomination and Biden’s announcement on Sunday, he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris.
