AUSTIN (KXAN) — Vice President Kamala Harris is adding a second stop during her trip to Austin this weekend, according to information sent out Thursday from her office.
Harris will take part in a conversation Saturday at the LBJ Presidential Library, where her office said she’ll discuss “the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting reproductive rights.” She’ll join Mini Timmaraju, the president of abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, during this event.
Additionally, Harris will speak Saturday night at the Johnson-Jordan Reception, a major midterm fundraiser for the Texas Democratic Party. The reception is named for former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Rep. Barbara Jordan and aims to fundraise to help with things like “vote-by-mail assistance, voter protection efforts, community organizing, direct voter contact, and more,” according to an earlier news release.
Harris last visited Texas on Sept. 8 when she spoke at the National Baptist Convention in Houston. A day later, she visited the NASA Johnson Space Center to deliver remarks about future space exploration.
Macarena Martinez, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, criticized Harris for not choosing to go to border communities during any of her recent visits
“The Vice President should reconsider her travel plans and visit the southern border that she has so willingly neglected,” Martinez said Thursday.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, echoed that criticism in a statement released Friday morning.
“Unfortunately, the Administration’s Border Czar hasn’t seen the epicenter of their self-inflicted crisis firsthand, which has overwhelmed our border communities and law enforcement,” Cornyn said. “Instead of using our state as an ATM and leaving as fast as possible, the Vice President should go to the border and meet with Texans to understand the very real costs of her inaction.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in June, Harris has emerged as a leading Biden administration voice on abortion rights. She appeared Tuesday at a roundtable discussion in Connecticut with Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes and Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson.