Kamala struck secret ‘handshake deal’ with DNC, screwed over ‘small donors’

Failed Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris struck a secret “handshake deal” with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to cover around $20.5 million in debt from her disastrous 2024 White House campaign, according to a bombshell report.

Harris, who was walloped by President Donald J. Trump, was let off the hook in exchange for a promise to raise money to make the cash-strapped entity “whole financially,” which allowed her to claim that she did not end the presidential race in debt, the New York Times reported on Monday.

According to the paper, which cites four sources and Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, “The private agreement was this: The party would pick up the tab for any outstanding 2024 bills, allowing Ms. Harris to claim she did not end the race in debt. In turn, Ms. Harris would raise the money to cover all of those leftover costs, leaving the party whole financially as it sought to navigate the second Trump era.”

NEW: Kamala Harris and the DNC struck a handshake deal for the party to pay leftover 2024 bills.

They’ve amounted to $20.5 million.

Harris has promised to raise $$$ to cover those costs.

But small donors making the donations have been left in dark.https://t.co/8j5Jp8Y1UM

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) August 25, 2025

The secret deal also screwed over small donors who, according to the Times, “received nearly 100 email solicitations sent from the Harris operation this year alone” on behalf of the DNC, with the emails failing to disclose that the funds being raised were “essentially earmarked for leftover bills.”

“They will put your donation to work immediately toward winning the next set of elections,” Harris said in one of the emails begging for money, according to the paper.

The paper notes that it’s “typically a tough sell” to convince donors to pay for debts. While the sum is only a tiny fraction of the astonishing $1.5 billion that the Harris campaign burned through in a mere 15 weeks, it is nonetheless significant, especially since it was less than forthcoming to the smaller donors.

DNC Executive Director Roger Lau said that the party appreciated “the strong support from the vice president as a grass-roots fund-raiser working in concert” with the organization.

“The DNC has raised more grass-roots dollars in 2025 than in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023, not including sends from the vice president,” Lau added.

The DNC began the year with $22.1 million and entered August with $13.9 million in the bank with its deal with Harris seeming to help to “explain the seeming dissonance between the party’s promotion of record fund-raising while it reports dwindling cash on hand,” according to the NYT.

In June, the paper reported that the DNC’s financial situation is so dire that party officials began discussing whether to begin tapping a line of credit.

By contrast, the Republican National Committee (RNC) began August with $84.3 million.

“It’s not completely forthright, but it’s also far from the most exploitative of campaign practices we see happening,” said Saurav Ghosh, who serves as director of federal campaign finance reform for watchdog the Campaign Legal Center.

”The vice president is committed to building a strong, resilient Democratic Party equipped to fight for the people and shape our future,” senior Harris adviser Kirsten Allen said in a statement, according to the New York Times.  “She continues to work hand in hand with the D.N.C. to invest in core infrastructure, grow grass-roots support, and ensure we have the resources to win — not just in the next election, but for years to come.”