WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced on July 23 they are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries were among the last remaining key Democrats to endorse Ms. Harris.
Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries initially held off giving their key endorsements to Ms. Harris despite her having quickly racked up endorsements from many members of Congress as well as governors. Ms. Harris has also received endorsements from influential Democrats including former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“So now that the process is played out, from the grassroots bottom-up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” said Mr. Schumer at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the fundraising and campaigning arm of Senate Democrats.
“Vice President Harris has earned the nomination from the grassroots-up and not the top-down,” said Mr. Jeffries.
The pair said they will meet with Ms. Harris “soon,” Mr. Schumer. He said he spoke with Ms. Harris on July 21.
Mr. Jeffries said Ms. Harris, who was attorney general of California and district attorney of San Francisco, “is a courageous leader who has worked hard throughout her entire career to keep our communities safe.”
In their remarks, Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries praised President Joe Biden.
Mr. Schumer said that by not seeking reelection, President Biden put his country and party above himself.
“At his core, he’s just an honorable man,” he said. ”A family man a man of deep faith.”
“Joe Biden has made the selfless decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready, willing, and able to lead us into the future,” said Mr. Jeffries.
Ms. Harris launched her run for the White House on July 21 following President Biden’s announcement that he is ending his re-election campaign. He was the first president to not seek re-election since President Lyndon Johnson, who dropped out in 1968. His vice president, Hubert Humphrey, became the Democrat nominee and lost to Richard Nixon.
In a speech before campaign staff at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, which housed President Biden’s re-election campaign, Ms. Harris said a “defining goal” of her potential presidency would involve strengthening the middle class.
“Together, we [will] fight to build a nation where every person has affordable health care, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity,” she said.
The vice president acknowledged that the recent period had “been a rollercoaster.”
“We’re all filled with so many mixed emotions about this. I just have to say: I love Joe Biden. I love Joe Biden,” she said.
