Amy Klobuchar

Senator from Minnesota
Jump to  stances on the issues
Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the presidential race on March 2, 2020. This page is no longer being updated.
Klobuchar has touted her Midwestern roots and ability to work across the aisle to pass legislation while campaigning as a moderate choice. She was first elected to the US Senate in 2006.
Yale University, B.A. (1982); University of Chicago Law School, J.D. (1985)
May 25, 1960
John Bessler
Congregationalist (United Church of Christ)
Abigail
Hennepin County attorney, 1999-2007;
Partner at the law firm Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty and Bennett in Minneapolis, 1993-1998;
Attorney, and later partner at the law firm Dorsey and Whitney in Minneapolis, 1985-1993

KLOBUCHAR IN THE NEWS

2020 Presidential Debates Fast Facts
Updated 11:56 AM ET, Thu Oct 5, 2023
Here's a look at the 2020 presidential debates. June 26, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Elizabeth Warren Transcript June 27, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Miami, Florida Hosts: NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo Moderators: José Diaz-Balart, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang Transcript July 30, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Steve Bullock, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Tim Ryan, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson Transcript July 31, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Detroit, Michigan Hosts: CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español Moderators: Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper Participants: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang Transcript September 12, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Houston, Texas Hosts: ABC News and Univision Moderators: Linsey Davis, David Muir, Jorge Ramos and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang Transcript October 15, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Westerville, Ohio Hosts: CNN and The New York Times Moderators: Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Marc Lacey Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcripts: 8pm ET, 9pm ET, 10pm ET November 20, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Atlanta Hosts: MSNBC and The Washington Post Moderators: Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker and Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript December 19, 2019 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Los Angeles Hosts: PBS NewsHour and Politico Moderators: Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor, Amna Nawaz and Judy Woodruff Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang Transcript January 14, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Des Moines, Iowa Hosts: CNN and Des Moines Register Moderators: Wolf Blitzer, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Abby Phillip Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcripts: 9pm ET, 10pm ET February 7, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Manchester, New Hampshire Hosts: ABC, Apple News and WMUR-TV Moderators: Linsey Davis, Monica Hernandez, David Muir, Adam Sexton and George Stephanopoulos Participants: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang February 19, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Hosts: MSNBC, NBC News, The Nevada Independent and Telemundo Moderators: Vanessa Hauc, Lester Holt, Hallie Jackson, Jon Ralston and Chuck Todd Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Transcript February 25, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Charleston, South Carolina Hosts: CBS News, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Twitter Moderators: Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell and Bill Whitaker Participants: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren Transcript March 15, 2020 Event Type: Democratic Debate Location: Washington, DC Hosts: CNN and Univision Moderators: Dana Bash, Ilia Calderón and Jake Tapper Participants: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Transcript September 29, 2020 Event Type: First Presidential Debate Location: Cleveland, Ohio Hosts: Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Moderator: Chris Wallace Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript October 7, 2020 Event Type: Vice Presidential Debate Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Hosts: The University of Utah Moderator: Susan Page Participants: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Transcript October 15, 2020 October 9, 2020 - The Commission on Presidential Debates cancels the second presidential debate after Trump declines to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis. October 22, 2020 Event Type: Third Presidential Debate Location: Nashville, Tennessee Hosts: Belmont University Moderator: Kristen Welker Participants: Joe Biden and Donald Trump Transcript
READ MORE

STANCES ON THE ISSUES

climate crisis
Close Accordion Pane
Klobuchar dedicated a portion of her announcement speech to climate, saying that within her first 100 days in office, she would “reinstate the clean power rules and the gas mileage standards and put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure.” Klobuchar in September 2019 released a climate plan to put the US on a path to 100% net-zero emissions by 2050 through “sweeping” legislative revisions. Klobuchar has committed to rejoining the Paris climate accord, a 2015 landmark deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon, on “Day One.” While she has co-sponsored the Green New Deal – the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – she has said in multiple interviews that she sees the bill as more “aspirational” than a solid legislative proposal. More on Klobuchar’s climate crisis policy
economy
Open Accordion Pane
Klobuchar has said the Trump corporate tax cuts in 2017 went “way too far.” She would raise the corporate tax rate to 25%, something she says would provide $100 billion to pay for “people’s roads and bridges.” Under a retirement savings plan she introduced in the Senate, she would return the household tax rate to 39.6% for top earners. She opposes the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – a successor deal to the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiated by Trump – as it is written and has called for changes. She has said she believes “we need to be doing everything we can to help American farmers sell more of their products in foreign markets.” Klobuchar has called for equal pay and is a co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would provide remedies for wage discrimination. More on Klobuchar’s economic policy
education
Open Accordion Pane
Klobuchar rolled out her education plan in July 2019, pledging to roll back a host of Trump’s education priorities, including a school choice tax credit, a plan that critics believe would take money away from public schools. She has previously expressed support for free community college and expanded financial aid for low-income students – but is against making all public colleges free. “I am not for free four-year college for all, no,” Klobuchar said in February 2019 at a CNN town hall. “If I was a magic genie and could afford to give that to everyone, I would.” The senator does not support wiping out all student debt, but does back expanding loan forgiveness for people in “in-demand jobs” and refinancing student loans at lower rates. More on Klobuchar’s education policy
gun violence
Open Accordion Pane
Klobuchar has sought to explain her view on guns through her home state of Minnesota and her family’s love of hunting. With that standard in mind, Klobuchar says she supports banning so-called assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. She has also backed universal background checks. “We should join the majority of Americans and actually many gun owners in having the courage to pass common-sense gun safety legislation,” Klobuchar said at a CNN town hall in February 2019. The senator has also proposed closing the “boyfriend loophole” in order to stop people who abused their dating partners from buying or owning firearms. More on Klobuchar’s gun violence policy
healthcare
Open Accordion Pane
Klobuchar has voiced skepticism about “Medicare for All” legislation, which would create a government-run health care plan and essentially eliminate the private insurance industry. During the first Democratic primary debate in June 2019, she expressed concern about “kicking half of America off of their health insurance in four years.” Instead, she supports creating a government-run public option, which she has said could be done by expanding Medicare or Medicaid. She also wants to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, promising to take executive action to do so during her first 100 days in office by increasing federal subsidies for premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as other methods. Also during her first 100 days, Klobuchar said, she would allow the importation of drugs from countries such as Canada. And she supports allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. More on Klobuchar’s health care policy
immigration
Open Accordion Pane
Klobuchar supports comprehensive immigration revisions, including a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country legally, refugees who have been in the country for decades and undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children and qualified for protections under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. She has said she would issue an executive order to end family separation at the border and to reunify children already separated from their parents. She does not support abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and instead would opt to overhaul the law enforcement agency. The senator is opposed to building a wall across the entire US-Mexico border but has called for “smart border protection,” including improved fencing and technology. More on Klobuchar’s immigration policy

LATEST POLITICAL NEWS

Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas
Updated 12:14 AM ET, Tue Mar 19, 2024
The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials "soon" in Washington to discuss alternatives to a planned military ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are sheltering after fleeing fighting in northern areas. In a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe. Biden said Israel's plans for a major operation in Rafah could be catastrophic for Palestinian civilians, and asked the Israeli leader to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss alternatives. Netanyahu agreed to the request, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting would be held at the end of this week or early next week. Biden's concerns over Israel’s planned Rafah offensive fell within three areas: Civilians sheltering in Rafah have nowhere safe to go Rafah is an entry point for critical humanitarian assistance Neighboring Egypt has voiced serious concerns about a potential military operation in the city. In the call, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving its war goals, including eliminating Hamas and releasing hostages. Here are the other major developments in the conflict: "Fierce clashes" around Gaza's largest hospital: Hamas' military wing said its fighters engaged in “fierce clashes” with Israeli forces around Al-Shifa Medical Complex after Israel said it launched an incursion because the Gaza City hospital was being used by "senior Hamas terrorists." The Health Ministry said there were multiple casualties at the complex, where about 30,000 people were sheltering, and the head of the World Health Organization said "hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  Mass arrests at Al-Shifa: The IDF said it arrested over 200 "terror suspects" at Al-Shifa hospital. One was Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, the network said. The US is aware of the arrest and has asked Israel for more information, a State Department official said. Humanitarian crisis: A report published by the UN World Food Programme warned that sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza between now and May. The top US humanitarian aid official called it "a horrific milestone" and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to WHO and Palestinian officials, and doctors say malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries. Hamas commander killed: Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, according to the White House. Marwan Issa was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel, the IDF said last week. On Monday, an IDF spokesperson did not confirm the information but said Israeli forces attacked an underground compound used by senior Hamas officials on March 9. The IDF was not able to verify if Issa was killed, the spokesperson said. ##Catch Up## US forces destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Monday, according to US Central Command. The strike took place between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Sanaa time), CENTCOM said in a statement, calling it an act of "self-defense." "It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said. US forces have been conducting similar strikes in the area where tensions have heightened amid the Iran-backed militant groups' attack on commercial vessels passing through the key waterway. Earlier this month, a ballistic missile by the Houthis struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members in its first fatal attack since October. The Biden administration will meet with Israeli officials “soon” in Washington to “discuss alternative approaches that would target key elements of Hamas and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground operation in Rafah,” the White House said in a statement. President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and voiced "deep concerns" over Israel's planned major operation in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It was the first known phone conversation between the leaders in over a month as their rift deepens. Biden asked Netanyahu to send a delegation of military leaders to Washington to discuss an alternative approach for going after Hamas in Rafah, to which Netanyahu agreed. The meeting could take place at the end of this week or early next week, Sullivan said. The leaders also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and hostage negotiations in Qatar, according to a White House statement on the call. Emphasis on northern Gaza: The leaders discussed “the urgent need” to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, especially in the north of the enclave. “The President stressed the urgent need to significantly increase the flow of lifesaving aid reaching those in need throughout Gaza, with special emphasis on the north,” the White House said. Malnutrition is complicating the recovery of children from their injuries in war-torn Gaza’s collapsing health care system, according to doctors. A growing number of children are dying of starvation and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. Acute malnutrition doubled within one month among children in northern Gaza, according to UNICEF. Project Hope is a US-based health and humanitarian aid organization that operates in regions facing health crises. Its emergency teams report that 5%-15% of the children arriving at its two clinics in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah are malnourished. “Malnutrition amplifies the fragility of the situation,” Rondi Anderson of Project Hope said. “If you’re malnourished, you’re weak. A child’s immune system is weak, it gets infected, then the healing can’t happen, and it gets prolonged.” CNN spoke to multiple doctors who have been to Gaza since the war began. They reported seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries like limb injuries as well as burns, which present multiple layers of treatment. In these situations, a patient needs good pain management, nutrition, antibiotic care and fluid management. In Gaza, “all those four pillars are gone,” said Dr. Amber Alayyan from Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Adding a malnourished state to that means the healing is complicated, she added. “People who have really huge injuries are dying on the spot,” she said. “At the beginning, we were seeing people with really big abdominal injuries and thoracic injuries and things like that. And now, I think that I truly think that they’re dying on the spot, because we’re seeing fewer and fewer. You do see them, but they don’t necessarily make it to the ICU very quickly.” The top US humanitarian aid official called a report warning that famine is set to break out in northern Gaza sometime between now and May “a horrific milestone” and urged Israel to open more land routes to deliver aid into the enclave. “We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes into Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and inspection delays to get land crossings operating at full capacity, even as we pursue air and maritime options to supplement these land routes,” US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement. The report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that the sustained fighting and lack of humanitarian aid means famine is now "imminent in the northern governates" of Gaza and "projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024."  Power said the "catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition" detailed in the report "should be unimaginable in the current era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality." “With just two previous Famine declarations in the twenty-first century, this is a horrific milestone," she added. Doctors Without Borders recounted reports from its staff of heavy fighting around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza as Israeli forces announced a military operation inside and around the facility on Monday. A staff member of the organization, also called Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), reported hearing “drones, tanks, and shelling” near the hospital in the early hours of Monday, witnessing a fire rising from Al-Shifa's main building.  Clashes were also reported around the organization's clinic and office in Gaza City where some staff and their families are sheltering. "We call on all warring parties to respect the grounds and perimeter of Al-Shifa Hospital and ensure the safety of medical personnel, patients, and civilians," MSF said in a statement. According to MSF staff, Israeli forces conducted “mass arrests in the area surrounding Al-Shifa,” and one of the organization’s staff members is currently unreachable. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israel has been waiting for the “right time to act” at Al-Shifa Hospital, in comments addressing Israel’s military operation there. Hagari said that the IDF arrested over 200 “terror suspects” who are “now under investigation.” The World Food Programme released a statement Monday on their Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report about food security in the Gaza Strip that found 88% of the region’s entire population faces “emergency or worse” food insecurity and warns that famine in northern Gaza is “imminent.” “People in Gaza are starving to death right now,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “The speed at which this man-made hunger and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.”  The IPC report, which was written by a group of NGOs, governments and UN agencies warned that "between mid-March and mid-July, in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah, half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5)." Here's what else we know: According to the report, for the 300,000 people that remain trapped in Nornhern Gaza, "famine is expected to arrive between now and May,” and one in three children in Gaza below the age of two are “acutely malnourished.”    Southern Gaza is also slowly nearing famine, according to the report, which found that the region may reach famine conditions by July.  The report goes on to say that the nearing famine could be halted if aid organizations are allowed full access to the Gaza Strip to bring food, water and other nutritional products to the civilian population, and that “a humanitarian ceasefire is necessary,” for this to occur. The World Health Organization's chief expressed concern about the situation in the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza wheIfter anraeli military opeiaid on the medical complexThe organization's chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the concerning situation in a post on X, saying: "Hospitals should never be battlegrounds."  "We are terribly worried about the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern #Gaza, which is endangering health workers, patients and civilians," he consaidA displaced Palestinian, Hamada Abdelhadi told CNN that Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers have been “demolishing and excavating the outer edges of the hospital yards” as part of the operation which began during the early hours of Monday morning.  According to Ghebreyesus, the hospital had only recently managed to restore "minimal health services," warning that fighting there or "militarization of the facility jeopardize health services, access for ambulances, and delivery of life-saving supplies." 
READ MORE