Harris once boasted of ‘behind the scenes’ work to get ‘every’ trans inmate access to gender surgeries

Then-Sen. Kamala Harris bragged in 2019 about working “behind the scenes” when she was California attorney general to change the state’s policy she said was unfairly hindering transgender inmates from receiving taxpayer-funded gender surgery.

Video of an interview Harris did as a candidate for the 2020 presidential election with the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Action Fund began circulating online following Tuesday night’s debate, after former President Donald Trump argued his opponent “wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison.” 

His remarks were immediately met with bewilderment by members of the media and Harris supporters, who suggested the claim was untrue. 

“When I was Attorney General I learned that the California Department of Corrections, which was a client of mine – I didn’t get to choose my clients … they were standing in the way of surgery for prisoners,” Harris said during the 2019 interview. “And there was a specific case. When I learned about the case, I worked behind-the-scenes to not only make sure that that transgender woman got the services she was deserving – it was not only about that case – I made sure that they changed the policy in the state of California so that every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desire and need.”

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Then-Sen. Kamala Harris sat down for an interview when she was running for president in 2019 to share her stance on LGBT issues.

The 2019 interview was part of a series of other talks by NCTE Action Fund, called “TRANSform the White House,” which sought to talk to the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential candidates about where they stood on the issue of LGBT rights. 

Trump’s claim Tuesday about Harris wanting to give detained illegal immigrants access to taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries started a firestorm on social media. 

Former President Donald Trump during the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition at Huntington Place Convention Center last month in Detroit. (Emily Elconin/Getty Images)

“‘She wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens who are in prison’ is the WILDEST thing I’ve ever heard in any debate. EVER,” former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill wrote on X shortly after Trump made his claim Tuesday evening. 

“Trump made history last night for sure. Who will ever forget him ranting on stage about immigrants eating people’s dogs? Or insisting that the Vice President ‘wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in jail’?” posted The New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser. 

Meanwhile, Time magazine was forced to make a correction after implying Trump’s claim was “false.”

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Trump’s comments on Tuesday evening and the subsequent frenzy over where Harris now stands on providing taxpayer-funded medical procedures to transgender inmates was preempted by news that while Harris was running for the presidency in 2019, she indicated in a candidate questionnaire to the American Civil Liberties Union that she did indeed support gender transition surgeries for detained migrants.

“I support policies ensuring that federal prisoners and detainees are able to obtain medically necessary care for gender transition, including surgical care, while incarcerated or detained,” Harris wrote in the questionnaire. She also checked a box “Yes” in response to whether she would use her executive authority as president to ensure transgender inmates, “including those in prison and immigration detention,” can receive transgender surgery.

A Haitian family stands outside the U.S. Border Patrol detention facility after walking seven miles from the Mexican border on Dec. 8, 2021 through Yuma, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

“The Vice President’s positions have been shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris Administration,” a Harris campaign adviser told Fox News when asked about Harris’ response to the questionnaire. In an additional statement to CNN, the campaign added that “As President, [Harris] will take that same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions of the sake of progress,” but did not elaborate in response to questions on where Harris currently stands on the issue. 

“That questionnaire is not what she is proposing or running on,” Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler also told Fox News. 

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Besides her remarks during the 2019 interview on LGBT rights about changing California policy to help “every” transgender inmate get the surgery they “desire,” Harris bragged during the interview about helping train prosecutors around the country on how to defeat the so-called “trans panic defense.” She also touted her work starting what Harris said was California’s first taxpayer-funded victims assistance program for transgender individuals, while lamenting the “epidemic” of Black transgender women getting murdered and insisting transgender people do nOt seek the assistance they need out of fear of judgment.

“Way back when, with the power that I had [as California Attorney General], I used it in a way that was about pushing forward the [trans rights] movement frankly, and the agenda,” Harris insisted during the 2019 interview.

People wave a Transgender Pride flag as they attend the 2023 LA Pride Parade on June 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response by publication deadline.