Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that Kamala Harris was off to a “great start” rallying support for her presidential run — but stopped short of endorsing her.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is off to a great start with her promise to pursue the presidential nomination in a manner consistent with the grassroots and transparent process set forth by the Democratic National Committee,” Schumer (D-NY) and Jeffries (D-NY) said in a joint statement.
Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries said Kamala Harris was off to a “great start” Monday. AP“She is rapidly picking up support from grassroots delegates from one end of the country to the other,” the pair said. “We look forward to meeting in person with Vice President Harris shortly as we collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”
On Sunday, former President Barack Obama also notably declined to endorse Harris, saying he was leaving the Democrats’ pick to “the leaders of our party” who “will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
Rep. and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday became the first senior Democratic leader in Congress to endorse Harris.
The pols stopped short, however, of endorsing Harris as the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg via Getty Images“Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute — and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Harris is considered the party’s leading candidate to replace President Biden, 81, at the top of the Dem’s ticket after the commander in chief abruptly bowed out of the race Sunday as concerns swirled about his mental and physical state. Biden immediately threw his support behind Harris to succeed him.
Schumer, Jeffries and Pelosi praised Biden for finally choosing to withdraw in the face of cratering poll numbers after his scattered debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27.
The duo said they are confident Harris will lead the Democratic party to victory in November. Getty ImagesAll three pols had pressured the president privately to reconsider his re-election campaign, with Schumer even visiting the commander in chief’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., a week ago to try to get him out.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a close Biden ally in Congress and former House Democratic whip, said in a statement Sunday that he is “proud to follow [Biden’s] lead in support of [Harris’s] candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for President.”
Harris, 59, could clinch the Democratic delegates necessary to receive her party’s nomination if a virtual roll call vote planned by the Democratic National Committee proceeds Aug. 7 to meet an Ohio ballot deadline.
But another vote could still take place at the Aug. 19-22 Democratic convention in Chicago — if more lawmakers come out against Harris.
The VP gave a low-energy press conference earlier Monday at the White House, as Biden continues to recover from COVID symptoms at his Delaware home.
“Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast, and he looks forward to getting back on the road,” she told the student athletes in attendance.
White House Dr. Kevin O’Connor disclosed Monday that the president has completed ten doses of Paxlovid since testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and that his vitals were normal.
“The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties,” O’Connor said in a statement — despite Biden having canceled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and without any public appearances slated for this week.
