Harris can chart her own path with the top regulators — and Big Business hopes she's on their side

• Biden made commitments during the campaign that impacted key economic appointments.

• Should Harris become president, she'll have much more freedom, and industry leaders have high hopes.

• Many business and tech figures told BI that appointments are key to the future of American industry.

When President Joe Biden stepped into the White House in January 2021, he was hamstrung not only by the pandemic but also by a promise he'd made to a former challenger: Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

When slogging through the political thicket of a crowded Democratic primary, Biden had assured Warren that she would have significant sway over economic regulatory agency appointments.

Warren's desired appointees — namely Lina Khan and Gary Gensler, chairs of the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission respectively — have drawn the praise of many economic progressives and ire of many business leaders.

But now that Vice President Kamala Harris is running for president in Biden's place after he dropped out, Khan and Gensler's future as chief regulators is in doubt.

Biden made a key commitment to Warren when he was running for president

"One of [Warren's] preferences was, 'I want Lina Khan to run the FTC,'" William Kovacic, former FTC chair and current law professor at George Washington University, previously told Business Insider. "Biden fulfilled that promise. But that was Biden's promise. That's not Harris' promise."

Adam Kovacevich, a Democratic lobbyist and the CEO of progressive tech industry coalition Chamber of Progress, doesn't think that Biden was particularly interested in regulatory economic issues.

"I think giving some picks to people like Elizabeth Warren kept Warren off his back on other issues," Kovacevich said. "Flash forward to today: Kamala Harris doesn't owe Elizabeth Warren anything."

During the 2020 cycle, various media outlets reported that Warren is singularly attuned to the power of economic regulatory agencies. A former Democratic aide told Politico that "Warren will be the most influential voice in the financial policy debate under the new administration," and the president of the Consumers Bank Association said that she "virtually hand-picked the financial and other regulatory nominations she cares deeply about."

But business and tech leaders who winced at the current appointments see an opportunity in Harris.

With deep ties to California, Harris is presenting herself as a pro-business candidate who understands the tech industry far better than her current boss. And she's garnering support among industry executives across the country — a group of powerful venture capitalists have vowed to vote for her and nearly 100 corporate leaders recently endorsed her in a joint letter.