Kamala Harris's vice-presidential vetting team, led by a pair of Covington & Burling partners, Eric Holder and Dana Remus, asked Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro whether he had ever been an Israeli agent or communicated with "an undercover agent of Israel," according to Shapiro's forthcoming memoir.
"Had I been a double agent for Israel?" wrote Shapiro, who is Jewish, in reference to a question from Remus. "Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was."
"Well, we have to ask," Remus replied. "Have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel?" Shapiro responded: "If they were undercover … how the hell would I know?"
Holder served as attorney general for former president Barack Obama. Remus served as Biden White House counsel and then as counsel to Columbia University as the Ivy League school became the epicenter of anti-Israel campus protests and saw two presidents resign amid the unrest.
The exchange provides a window into a contentious vetting process that culminated in accusations of anti-Semitism when Harris passed on Shapiro in favor of Minnesota governor Tim Walz. It also reveals the extent to which Holder and Remus—both of whom played a role in defending Ivy League leaders over criticism of their response to anti-Israel campus protests—shaped Harris's campaign.
Harris's consideration of Shapiro sparked backlash from left-wing activists, who launched a "No Genocide Josh" campaign that maligned the governor's support for Israel and criticism of illegal protests on college campuses in the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack. When Harris picked Walz as her running mate, Shapiro said anti-Semitism played "no role" in the decision or in his "dialogue with the vice president."
Shapiro's memoir tells a different story. Remus's questioning, the governor wrote, "said a lot about some of the people around the VP." Shapiro also revealed, according to the Atlantic, that Harris asked him "if he would apologize for some of his comments about protesters at the University of Pennsylvania who had built encampments." Shapiro "flatly" declined.
Harris defended anti-Israel campus agitators like those at Penn, saying in July 2024, "They are showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza." Holder did the same three months earlier, writing of his alma mater, Columbia University: "Unrest at Columbia is driven by legitimate concerns about Gaza situation but also by the irresponsible-unproductive-witch hunt-political hearings conducted by House Republicans. Truth: The Congress types don't give a damn about the welfare of any students."
Remus played a central role in those hearings. She led a team of Covington lawyers that represented Columbia amid anti-Israel unrest on its campus and prepared the school's then-president, Minouche Shafik, for her April 2024 congressional testimony on the issue.
Remus joined Covington as a partner in 2022 after serving as senior adviser to the Harris-Walz campaign and as Biden White House counsel. Holder spent eight years at the firm before serving as attorney general and then returning to Covington in 2015.
Holder's second stint at the firm has not been without controversy. He has raked in as much as $2,295 an hour conducting racial equity audits for corporations like Starbucks. With Holder's blessing, the coffee giant took steps to promote "equity" like tying executive pay to diversity targets, setting spending goals for "diverse suppliers," and launching a mentorship program for "BIPOC" employees. Holder said the initiatives demonstrated Starbucks's "commitment to civil rights and equal treatment." A Starbucks shareholder argued that they violated non-discrimination laws and sued the company, the Washington Free Beacon reported in 2023.
Covington's own commitment to "equal treatment" has come into question during Holder's time at the firm. A former Covington associate, Paul Bryant, accused the firm of racism last August, alleging that a Covington partner called him a "n—r." Bryant, who described himself as "Black" and "Neurodivergent," was later arrested for threatening National Guard members in Washington, D.C., though a jury declined to indict him. Covington lauded Bryant in an April 2025 LinkedIn post "for being named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40."
Harris criticized both Shapiro and Walz in her own post-election memoir, 107 Days. She accused Shapiro of hijacking the conversation when she interviewed him for the position of running mate and of asking during the vetting process how many bedrooms are in the vice president's residence, claims that Shapiro called "complete and utter bulls—t." Walz, Harris wrote, "fumbled" the vice-presidential debate and was duped by his opponent, J.D. Vance.
