Issue Guide: Tim Walz on Foreign Policy

Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 election. Walz has been Minnesota’s governor since 2019, and he previously served for twelve years in the U.S. House of Representatives. CFR.org editors have assembled a brief rundown of his views and record on some of the country’s top foreign policy issues.

Middle East

Walz condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked a devastating war in the Gaza Strip. In March 2024, he said he supported a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Walz says the United States should provide more humanitarian aid to Palestinians and he has called for a two-state solution to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

As a member of the House of Representatives, Walz voted in favor of U.S. aid to Israel and supported the Iran nuclear deal. He won election to Congress in 2006 on a platform that called for withdrawing American troops from Iraq and in 2013 expressed his opposition to President Barack Obama’s air strikes against targets in Syria. In 2017, he co-sponsored legislation that would have required the cessation of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. 

Al-Monitor provides a rundown of Walz’s views on leading Middle East issues.

Russia-Ukraine

Walz condemned Russia’s “unprovoked and unlawful attacks” the day after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, saying that “it’s time to unite, protect democracy, and work together to hold Russia accountable.” On the two-year anniversary of the invasion, he reiterated Minnesota’s support for Ukrainians “as they fight to defend freedom and democracy.” That same month, he met with the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, and the two agreed to establish an agricultural partnership between Minnesota and the north Ukrainian region of Chernihiv.

Politico looks at Walz’s military and foreign policy background.

Immigration

Walz supports immigration reform that offers a path to citizenship to certain undocumented immigrants, to include “essential workers, Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and their families,” he wrote in a 2021 letter to Congress. In March 2023, he signed into law a bill that makes immigrants of any status eligible to apply for driver’s licenses. As a congressman, in 2018, Walz opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, calling it “ridiculous.”

China

As a member of the House of Representatives, he cosponsored several bills aimed at addressing human rights abuses by the Chinese government. As a governor, he called on Trump to end his trade war with Beijing.

Climate Change

Walz has regularly backed policies aimed at addressing climate change. In 2022, during his reelection campaign for the governorship, Walz unveiled a plan that aimed to increase the share of electric vehicles on Minnesota’s roads to 20 percent by 2030, slash the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

In May 2023, he approved a $2 billion bill that helps schools pay for solar panels and provides rebates for purchases of electric school buses, among other provisions. That same year, he signed a law that requires the state to generate the entirety of its electricity from wind, solar, and other carbon-free sources by 2040 in an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions and create new clean-energy jobs.

Global Health

Walz signed a bill into state law in January 2023 that enshrines Minnesotans’ right to abortion and other reproductive health–care options, including certain gender-affirming procedures, expanded access to birth control, and family-planning support. In March 2024, Walz accompanied Harris to tour a Minnesota clinic that performs abortions; this made her the first sitting vice president to visit such a facility.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walz mandated the use of masks in indoor businesses and public settings. The move faced court challenges arguing that the mandate was unconstitutional, but it was ultimately upheld. Walz also instituted a hotline number for the public to report violations of social-distancing guidelines. In 2022, he signed a law providing $1 million in emergency funding to aid the state’s response to the ongoing avian flu outbreak.

Trade

Walz has expressed skepticism of some free trade agreements, but as governor, he sought to expand trade and investment ties with Canada, with which Minnesota shares a border. Before Harris tapped him for the vice president role, Walz was set to lead a U.S. trade mission to Ireland and the Netherlands in November 2024. He said in an official statement that the mission would allow Minnesota companies to “strengthen international economic ties” and “grow their business in Europe.” 

Politico examines Walz’s record on trade, the economy, and several other issues.

Recommend Resources

This CFR tracker looks at Kamala Harris’s and Donald Trump’s stances on ten of the most pressing foreign policy issues.

For The Water’s Edge blog, CFR Director of Studies James M. Lindsay profiles Republican vice-presidential pick JD Vance.

CFR’s 2024 election hub explains what the November vote could mean for Washington’s standing in world affairs.

This Backgrounder by CFR’s Jonathan Masters unpacks the U.S. vice president’s role in foreign policy.