Here's new Democratic VP pick Walz's record on civil service issues

Tim Walz brings extensive experience with public employees — both as a governor and U.S. congressman — to the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee, on Tuesday announced Walz as her running mate. He is in his second term as Minnesota governor after first being elected in 2018. 

In his 2024 State of the State address, he thanked state employees who are “working around the clock” to implement one of his signature achievements — a law that beginning in 2026 will provide paid family and medical leave for individuals in Minnesota. 

He also used the speech to celebrate recently enacted labor legislation that would, among other things, expand the scope of public sector collective bargaining. 

“Minnesota always has been and always will be a labor state,” he said. 

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told CBS News that Walz was one of his top picks for Harris’ vice president due to his record on labor issues. 

President of the American Federation of Government Employees, Everett Kelley, on Tuesday said in a statement that Harris' selection of Walz "further cement[s] her commitment to the labor movement."

"Gov. Walz is no stranger to labor. As governor he has signed several pro-labor bills into law. During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives he was an ally of AFGE, regularly advocating for federal workers. And his decades of experience as an Army National Guard officer, a teacher and a union member further exemplify his dedication to public service," he said.

He also served six terms in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2019. Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, became the top Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. 

There, he was involved in negotiations on a 2017 law to expedite the firing of Veterans Affairs Department employees. Walz said the bill was “not perfect in everyone’s mind” but argued it would protect due process rights. 

At a 2015 Brookings Institution discussion, Walz said finding a compromise on how to fire civil servants who aren’t performing is a “realistic conversation” to have and would be open to looking at changing the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act that governs federal personnel regulations. 

“I don’t have an ideological dog that I am tied to in this fight. What I care about is that outcome,” he said, specifically referring to delivering the best, most cost-effective service to veterans. 

Walz also pushed the VA to research medical marijuana as a way to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, helped pass a 2017 law to improve VA educational benefits and advocated for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” 

After the selection, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on MSNBC’s Morning Joe praised Walz as “wonderful” and someone she knows “very well” from his time in the House. 

Before becoming an elected official, Walz was a high school teacher and football coach.