Kamala Harris’s economic team and agenda start to take shape

WASHINGTON—Shortly after President Biden announced his decision to drop out of the race, an informal group of economic advisers began quietly discussing how to best articulate Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic vision. Their challenge: differentiating the candidate from her unpopular boss without abandoning his policies.

Harris’s team is now crafting a policy framework focused on making housing more affordable, lowering costs for families, taking on corporate excess and boosting small businesses, according to people involved in the discussions.

The plan is intended to make her priorities clear to voters amid criticism that she hasn’t presented a detailed agenda during her first few weeks on the campaign trail. But aides said the exact contours of the plan are still in flux days after Harris told reporters that she planned to release a policy platform this week, a time frame that surprised some of her advisers. Harris is expected to test drive her messaging during a Friday speech in Raleigh, N.C., that will focus on decreasing costs and confronting alleged price gouging.

When she does put out a more detailed agenda, which could come in the form of several plans released in the coming weeks, she is unlikely to break with Biden on substance, according to her advisers. Instead, they expect small shifts in emphasis that highlight her résumé and priorities. Harris is planning to lean into her background as a prosecutor, as well as her focus on issues such as paid family leave as a senator and vice president.

Harris, the first Black woman to become a major party’s nominee, is known to encourage staff to look at policy issues through the prism of how they affect women, children and minorities, and she plans to help drive