Walz was also asked about foreign ties during Harris vetting, sources tell CNN

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN

(CNN) — Josh Shapiro wasn’t the only finalist to be Kamala Harris’ running mate who was asked if he had ever been an agent of a foreign government, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday. Tim Walz was, too.

The Minnesota governor — whom Harris ultimately picked — was asked by her vetting team if he had ever been an agent of China, prompted by aides’ review of the multiple trips Walz took to China before running for office.

That was the same line of questioning, four people involved with that process say, which led to top lawyer Dana Remus asking Shapiro if he had ever been an agent of Israel, in a conversation that Shapiro recounts in his memoir set to be published next week.

“I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro wrote in an advance copy of which was obtained Sunday by CNN.

Shapiro described feeling that he was being asked only because he is Jewish and adds that to be asked that “said a lot about some of the people around the VP.”

Shapiro’s calling Remus out by name infuriated some in the orbit of former President Barack Obama, with whom Remus is close, having worked for him both in the White House and when he was setting up his post-presidency. Shapiro has built up an active relationship of his own with the 44th president, who officiated Remus’ wedding.

But more than anything, the blow-up further aggravates a relationship between Harris and Shapiro that was fraught for years before she ever brought him in for an interview, and that is now on a potential collision course as both consider 2028 presidential runs. Harris, in her own 2024 campaign account, previously said she was concerned Shapiro “would be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership.”

The four people involved with the vetting process argue that the question of being a foreign agent is standard on the forms all the politicians hoping to be picked were asked to fill out, and which is the same form used for all high-level federal government appointees. Remus’ additional questions, they say, were also a natural expansion on the form as Shapiro entered the finalist stage of consideration.

“The crux of vetting is asking uncomfortable and even farfetched questions, especially ones that could be raised by your opponents. ‘Have you ever had an affair?’ ‘Have you ever embezzled state funds?’ ‘Have you ever been an agent for another country?’ The point isn’t that you believe any of it to be true,” said a person close to Remus. “It’s that the subject needs to be on record with definitive answers.”

A separate person involved with the vetting process added: “Pulling punches would have been a disservice to both the nominee and her potential running mate.”

Given the attention to the sometimes-blurred lines between anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment and the concern of accusing Jews of having dual loyalties to the US and Israel, the disclosure of the questioning has stirred anger among some prominent Jewish leaders.

Deborah Lipstadt, who served as the special envoy for antisemitism in the Biden-Harris administration, called the questions “classic antisemitism.” David Wolpe, a prominent rabbi emeritus from a large congregation in Los Angeles and Jewish leader, posted on X, “Josh Shapiro’s great-grandfather was a Scranton city councilman. Wonder if she asked Tim Walz if he was a secret German or Swiss spy.”

That Walz was asked a similar question had been kept confidential until now, as had the line of questioning to Shapiro, which was prompted by a review of the Pennsylvania governor’s work history, which includes volunteer work he did in Israel while in high school and a brief time working in public affairs for the Israeli embassy in Washington.

Harris allies disclosed the questioning of Walz to more fully explain the vetting process, which was rushed as she took former President Joe Biden’s place atop the Democratic ticket. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, made fighting antisemitism a focus of his tenure as the first Jewish person to become the spouse of a vice president.

Shapiro writes that he calmly answered Remus’ questions after voicing his objection to them. Walz, in his own conversation, also said no when asked if he was a foreign agent, people familiar with the matter said.

A spokesperson for Harris declined comment. A spokesperson for Walz did not return comment. A spokesperson for Shapiro referred back to a comment first provided on Sunday evening that the chapter about 2024 politics is part of a much larger book about the governor’s faith but did not comment on the additional context.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.