Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wants an expanded child tax credit. A primary reason it hasn’t already been expanded is because the GOP voted against it — but MAGA trolls won’t tell that to their audiences.

Yesterday, serial plagiarist and alleged Russian stooge Benny Johnson shared a clip of Harris discussing expanding the credit and asked why the administration didn't do that “over the last three years.”

KAMALA: “Part of my new approach is that we need to expand the child tax credit.”



Why didn’t your administration do it over the last three years? pic.twitter.com/bYG2Unp6IV

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 17, 2024

As some journalists explained in response, Democrats tried to renew the child tax credit expansion after its expiration, but they were blocked by opposition from Republicans in the Senate in 2022.

When expansion of this tax credit was again brought up for a vote in the Senate in August 2024, Senate Republicans again blocked it — and GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance skipped the vote.

The reality is that Harris cast the tie-breaking vote for legislation which included a temporarily expanded child tax credit in 2021. This expansion increased the credit’s maximum value to $3,600, expanded access to more low-income families, and made the credit available monthly. According to NPR, this expanded the credit to 19 million additional American children and cut child poverty in half.

Harris is now proposing to make the previous expansion permanent and add a $6,000 benefit for low- and middle-income families that have newborns. Yet, Vance reportedly wants to turn the credit into another giveaway for the rich by phasing out the income limits. He also hasn’t clarified whether he would exclude lower-income families from the full benefit, much like his running mate Donald Trump did in his 2017 giveaway for the rich. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Trump’s move excluded 26 million children in lower-income families from the full benefit.