Vice President Kamala Harris had a busy 24 hours after being endorsed as the Democratic presidential candidate by President Joe Biden. She has secured enough delegates to earn the partyās nomination and raised more than $81 million, a record sum for the 2024 political cycle. Harris also spoke Monday at a White House celebration with the NCAA championship teams, her first appearance since President Biden announced he was leaving the race.
Meanwhile, The Secret Service directortestified before a congressional committee and was called on to resign over security failures at a rally where a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
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Harris: I look forward to accepting the nomination soon
Shortly after securing the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her partyās nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that she is looking forward to formally accepting the nomination while also making her case against a second Donald Trump presidency.
āTonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our partyās nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home stateās delegation helped put our campaign over the top," Harris said.
The 2024 election is about two different visions for America's future, Harris said.
āDonald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights," she said. "I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.ā
The AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.
Harris has enough support of Democratic delegates to become partyās presidential nominee: AP survey
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her partyās nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an⯠Associated Press survey āÆtaken in the aftermath of President Joe Bidenās decision to drop his bid for reelection.
Harris, who was endorsed by Biden minutes after he announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination, worked to quickly lock up the support of her partyās donors, elected officials and other leaders, and has so far received support from at least 2,214.
However, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. Thatās because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.
For young voters, Harris is āfar closerā in age
Tatum Watkins, a 19-year-old college student from southwest Iowa and a delegate to the DNC, said she appreciates as a young woman that Harris is speaking out on issues like reproductive rights and is āfar closerā in age to a whole new generation of voters.
āShe is very much leaning into whatās popular right now,ā Watkins said. āIāve seen already her branding is what I can best describe as brat summer.ā
Watkins said that has energized and excited her and other young Iowans, making what will be her first experience voting in a presidential election āeven better.ā
Rep. Dean: āIāve never been more optimistic about Americaā
The mood among many House Democrats lifted quickly as lawmakers returned to Washington with Biden having handed off the election to Harris.
āIāve never been more optimistic about America because of his leadership, his selflessness, his putting country first,ā said Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.
āAnd then Kamala ā woo! ā I am excited,ā she said. āIām hearing from my constituents and folks they are so fired up.ā
She said one way Harris could approach campaigning in a swing state like hers would be to pick Pennsylvaniaās Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate for the vice presidential spot.
Biden to return to the White House, Harris will hit the campaign trail
President Biden is set to return to the White House tomorrow after spending six days at his beach home in Delaware convalescing from COVID-19. Biden became ill while campaigning in Las Vegas last week and headed to his vacation home to isolate.
Vice President Harris, meanwhile, will head to the battleground state of Wisconsin as her campaign for the White House kicks into high gear.
The event in Milwaukee will be her first full-fledged campaign event since announcing her candidacy on Sunday.
Kansas DNC delegates vote to support Harris
Kansas delegates for the DNC met virtually Monday evening and agreed to give all 44 of the stateās votes on the presidential nomination to Vice President Harris.
āWe are united in our endorsement,ā the delegationās leader, state party Chair Jeanna Repass, said after the meeting. āTime is not our friend. We have got to be united.ā
Repass rejected suggestions ā some from Republicans ā that the Democratic Party is ignoring the will of its primary voters. She said primary voters who backed Biden understood that Harris would be president if something happened to Biden.
She said there is still time for other candidates to come forward if they can get enough delegates to sign onto their efforts.
āThis has already been adjudicated through the primary process,ā Repass said. āThatās why youāre seeing us come together so quickly. She has been our choice since 2020, and she is still our choice today.ā
New ad contrasts Trump and Harris as felon and prosecutor
A Democratic group is targeting Trump and trumpeting Harrisā past as a prosecutor with new ads in the swing states expected to be key to the general election.
American Bridge 21st Century says it is launching a $20 million ad buy in the northern swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin later this week.
The group says the spots feature voters from the trio of states with the goal of contrasting Harris ā a former prosecutor ā with Trump, recently convicted on 34 felony charges.
The $20 million ad buy is part of a $200 million campaign American Bridge launched in May and is aimed at swing voters in smaller media markets that are less saturated with political advertising. The group hopes to reach people who may be on the fence.
The first round of ads focuses on abortion rights and health care access. One of the new ads shared by American Bridge features a Pennsylvania veteran who says he felt āviolatedā by the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and called it an āexample of Trump spitting on all of us who served.ā
Democrats plan to push forward with a virtual roll call
The Democratic Party plans to push forward with a virtual roll call in which delegates to its convention can choose a presidential nominee before they meet in person next month in Chicago, with Vice President Kamala Harris heavily favored now that President Joe Biden has abandoned his reelection bid.
The convention rules committee will meet Wednesday to approve how the virtual roll call will work, but a draft of what they are set to approve was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
It does not list a date for when the roll call will take place, but Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the process will be completed by Aug. 7. It could contain multiple rounds of voting, but to qualify, candidates will need 300 electronic signatures of support from convention delegates.
The Democratic National Convention opens Aug. 19. State delegations to the gathering began pledging their near-unanimous support for Harris in the hours after President Joe Biden announced he was abandoning his reelection bid on Sunday.
Trump campaign advisers peg Harris as ādangerously liberalā
Trumpās campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles have released a memo after Harrisā visit and remarks at Bidenās campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, calling her ādangerously liberalā and saying she āis as bad, if not worse, than Joe Biden.ā
āItās a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to defeat not just one Democrat nominee for president, but two ā in the same year!ā
The advisers have called this āa ploy to try and shake up the raceā and said Harris is just as responsible for Bidenās policies at the U.S.-Mexico border, which saw illegal crossing arrests reach record highs at the end of 2023.
Harris leans into her prosecutor background and draws contrast with Trump
Vice President Harris is honing the political message she plans to use to seek the White House in November.
Rallying staffers at Bidenās campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, now hers to inherit, Harris emphasized her professional background as a prosecutor. She contrasted that with Trump, who has been convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush money case in New York.
āI took on perpetrators of all kinds,ā Harris said, adding, āI know Donald Trumpās type.ā
She also announced that Jen OāMalley Dillon, who had chaired Bidenās reelection campaign, will run her bid.
Biden calls into Harrisā appearance with campaign staff
President Biden called into a campaign staff meeting while Vice President Harris was visiting, pledging, āIf I didnāt have COVID, Iād be standing there with you.ā
Harris traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, today to rally campaign staffers a day after Biden withdrew his presidential candidacy and endorsed Harris to replace him atop the Democratic ticket.
The crowd at first gasped, then cheered as Biden promised, āIām going to be on the roadā and campaigning for Harris.
āI want people to remember, what we have done has been incredible,ā Biden said. He added, āI want to say to the team, embrace her, sheās the best.ā
Harris devoted much of her brief remarks to praising Biden, saying, āI love Joe Biden. I know we all do.ā
Interest in the Harris campaign surges
More than 28,000 new volunteers have registered to join Harrisā campaign since Biden chose to withdraw his candidacy and bestow his campaign infrastructure to his VP. Itās a rate more than 100 times an average day from the previous Biden reelection campaign, underscoring the enthusiasm behind Harris.
Ohio state Senator regrets suggesting ācivil warā would follow a Trump lose
A Republican state senator from Ohio who spoke at Vanceās first solo rally has apologized for saying on stage that it would ātake a civil warā to save the country if Trump loses.
The apology from George Lang, the state lawmaker, came after Harrisā team highlighted his remarks in a post on X.
āI regret the divisive remarks in the excitement of the moment on stage,ā he said on the same social network. āEspecially in light of the assassination attempt on President Trump last week, we should all be mindful of what is said at political events, myself included.ā
Voter Voice: āNothingās been handed to him in lifeā
Trump supporter Christina Chrisley, who lives in Virginiaās New River Valley, said she knew very little about JD Vance before he was announced as the Republican vice presidential nominee. She had hoped Glenn Youngkin would be selected.
But after doing more research, she said sheās excited by Vance. She has respect for Vanceās background and service as a marine and thinks heāll do everything he can to āhelp Donald Trump win the election and do everything he possibly can for blue-collar workers.ā
āNothingās been handed to him in life,ā she said, sitting in a lawn chair looking out at the New River in a hot pink Trump shirt before the rallyās start.
She also said she was impressed by Vanceās speech at the RNC, calling him āeloquent and very well-spoken.ā
DNC Delegate: āThere is incredible excitementā
Ron Meehan, who works at an Anchorage food bank and, at 25, is the youngest member of Alaskaās Democratic delegates, said Harris is creating a buzz in the party.
āI think that there is incredible excitement among Democrats right now, and particularly the young Democrats that had maybe been tuned out of the process,ā he said Monday. āWeāre on the verge of making history, the first woman president.ā
Meehan is the western regional adviser to the Democratic National Committeeās Climate and Environmental Crisis Council.
āClimate issues in particular are ones that I think young people across the country, including myself, are watching very closely,ā he said. Meehan credited the Biden-Harris administration for protecting southeast Alaskaās Tongass National Forest, both the nationās largest national forest and the worldās largest intact temperate rainforest, reinstating restrictions on road-building and logging there.
āI think that she has the policy and track record, the temperament and the skill set to run a very strong campaign and to be a strong president,ā he said.
Harris raises $81 million in 24 hours, setting new presidential donation record
Vice President Harrisā team has raised more than $81 million in the 24-hour period since President Biden announced his decision to step aside.
The massive fundraising haul represents the largest 24-hour fundraising sum by either party in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump reported raising more than $50 million in the 24-hour period after his felony conviction in the New York hush money trial. Biden reported $38 million in the four days after his disastrous debate performance.
Harrisā new total features donations from hundreds of thousands of first-time donors, the campaign said.
Top California Democrat urges delegates to support Harris
The head of the California Democratic Party, Rusty Hicks, is urging delegates to quickly line up behind Harris and has circulated an online form to submit endorsements.
āI am asking delegates from our great state of California and home to our vice president, Kamala Harris, to officially endorse her nomination,ā wrote Hicks, who also heads the nationās largest delegation to the August convention.
āThe future of our country is at stake in this election,ā Hicks added in an email to delegates, who were expected to hold a virtual meeting on Harrisā nomination later Monday.
Vance calls Democrats āa threat to Democracyā ā not Trump
Sen. Vance also sought to deflect the criticism that Trump, who has refused to accept the 2020 election results and tried to overthrow his loss, is a threat to democracy by instead claiming that the Democrats were the threat.
āThe idea of selecting the Democrat partyās nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and a couple of elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard, that is now how it works,ā Vance said. āThat is a threat to democracy. Not the Republican Party.ā
With Biden stepping aside, Democrats technically start with an open convention. But realistically, his endorsement of Harris pushes Democrats into murky territory. Harris has solidified support among more than half of the almost 4,000 party delegates and 700 more so-called superdelegates.
Harrisā governor endorsements roll in
1. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said, āSheās tough, sheās smart and sheās ready to unite the country.ā
2. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said, āAmericans are looking for a new generation of leadership that will move past the divisiveness and unite us around our shared American values.ā
3. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said, āHarris has always done whatās best for American families,ā citing her record on abortion rights and helping to āsafeguard democracy.ā
4. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy called Harris āa proven leader who has delivered for the American people again and again.ā
AP survey finds Harris now backed by more than half of delegates needed to win nomination vote
An AP survey finds that Vice President Harris has the support of more than half of the delegates sheāll need to take President Bidenās place at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Over 1,000 pledged delegates told The Associated Press or announced that they plan to support Harris in a forthcoming vote to pick a new White House nominee.
Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination. Of the about 1,070 delegates who have spoken to the AP or announced their plans, fewer than 60 either declined to answer or said they were undecided. And Harris is the only Democrat to receive support from delegates so far.
Pat Chesbro, an Alaska delegate and former U.S. Senate candidate, said she could think of no better option than Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket. āPeople are doing their best to find the best candidate in this situation, which is pretty unusual,ā she said. āI look forward to the convention and to seeing whatever the next phase is,ā said Chesbro, a lifelong educator.
Bipartisan leaders call Secret Service director to resign
Bipartisan leaders of the House Oversight Committee have ended a contentious, nearly five-hour hearing with the Secret Service director by calling for her to resign after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
In a rare moment of unity for an often divided committee, Reps. James Comer and Jamie Raskin issued a letter to Director Kimberly Cheatle, asking for her to step down as director given her own description of the āmost significant operation failureā in the agencyās history.
Cheatle, a 29-year veteran of the Secret Service, spent the majority of the hearing fielding attacks from both sides of the aisle and deflecting questions about the details of the ongoing criminal investigation into the July 13 shooting. But she remained defiant, saying that she believes she is the āright personā to lead the agency at this time and that she will move āheaven and earthā to get to the bottom of what went wrong.
Harris fires off first campaign fundraising email
Kamala Harris is launching her first campaign fundraising email with a nod to the campaign theme she adopted as far back as her campaign for California attorney general 14 years ago.
āMy whole life, Iāve only had one client: the people,ā the email begins, referencing her abbreviated 2020 presidential campaign theme, āKamala: For the people.ā
Itās a riff on a prosecutorās role and the customary introduction in criminal proceedings.
āThat was true when I was a prosecutor in California, when I served in the Senate and throughout my time as your Vice President,ā Harrisā email states.
āAnd itās true as I make this announcement to the world. My name is Kamala Harris, and Iām running for President of the United States.ā
Speaker at JD Vance campaign event warns of ācivil warā if Trump loses election
While Republicans touted a unifying message last week and decried inflammatory language in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump, one of the first speakers to introduce Vance on Monday in his hometown took a sharp departure from that message and suggested the country may need to come to civil war if Trump loses in November.
āI believe wholeheartedly, Donald Trump and Butler Countyās JD Vance are the last chance to save our country,ā said George Lang, a Republican state senator. āPolitically, Iām afraid if we lose this one, itās going to take a civil war to save the country and it will be saved. Itās the greatest experiment in the history of mankind.ā
Secret Service director says she apologized to Donald Trump after his assassination attempt
Speaking during a congressional hearing, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said she apologized to Trump in a phone call after the rally in Pennsylvania.
White House chief of staff: Thereās still much work to be done
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told White House aides and political appointees across the administration that there remains much work to be done in the next six months, according to two people familiar with this message, even as Biden suspends his candidacy for president.
In separate calls, Zients told hundreds of aides and appointees that in every call heās had with Biden in the last 24 hours, the president has urged his team to focus on key policy goals, such as continuing to implement his legislative achievements and zeroing in on efforts to lower health care and housing costs.
As for Bidenās successor, Zients stressed Biden has been clear on his thoughts and acknowledged Harrisā tenure, which he described as extraordinary. Zients noted that as an official side employee, he had been advised by the White House counselās office that he could not speak about politics nor who the next president would be ā whomever she is.
ā Seung Min Kim
Secret Service chief: Roof where shooter fired was identified as a potential vulnerability days before rally
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the roof from which the shooter fired had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Cheatle said Monday that her agency failed in its mission to protect Trump during a highly contentious congressional hearing with lawmakers of both major political parties demanding she resign over security failures that allowed a gunman to scale a roof and open fire at the campaign rally.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Harris for president with āenthusiastic supportā
Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts to Harris, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, endorsed Harris on Monday. Pelosi said she was lending her āenthusiastic supportā to Harrisā effort to lead the party.
More than 700 pledged delegates have told The Associated Press or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention, which is over one-third of the pledged delegates she needs in order to clinch the nomination. Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination.
French president wrote letter to Biden praising āspirit of responsibilityā that led him to leave race
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote President Joe Biden a letter praising the āācourage, spirit of responsibility and sense of dutyāā that led him to withdraw from the presidential race.
āāJust after we commemorated together the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I share a hope that this spirit of partnership between the two coasts of the Atlantic continues to animate the historic relations between our two countries,ā³ the letter reads, according to excerpts released Monday by his office.
AP survey of Democratic delegates finds early signs that Harris is consolidating support for presidential nomination
More than 700 pledged delegates have told The Associated Press or announced that they plan to support Vice President Kamala Harris at the convention, which is over one-third of the pledged delegates she needs in order to clinch the nomination.
Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination.
Secret Service director: Agency had been told about āsuspicious personā at Trump rally 2 to 5 times before shooting
In her first congressional hearing over the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged that the agency was told about a suspicious person āsomewhere between two and five timesā before the shooting.
Yet, Cheatle gave no indication Monday that she intends to resign even as she said she takes āfull responsibilityā for any security lapses at the Pennsylvania rally. Cheatle vowed to āmove heaven and earthā to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.
Lawmakers peppered Cheatle with questions about how the gunman could get so close to the Republican presidential nominee when he was supposed to be carefully guarded and about why Trump was allowed to take the stage after local law enforcement had identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as suspicious.
Republican JD Vance to make first solo campaign appearances as Trumpās running mate
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance is making his first solo appearances on the campaign trail, a day after the 2024 presidential race was thrown into upheaval as President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Vance, an Ohio senator, and is scheduled to hold a rally in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, on Monday afternoon, followed by a second rally Monday evening in Radford, Virginia.
Vendors outside of the Vance event in Ohio appeared for have pivoted quickly with the news of Biden dropping out. They had removed merchandise referencing Biden and added coffee mugs, t-shirts and other items that featured Vance.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper: āThe vice presidential conversation needs to occur laterā
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on MSNBCās āMorning Joeā that he had a āgreatā conversation Sunday with Vice President Kamala Harris about āwinning this race.ā
Cooper, a term-limited governor with a history of strong support for the Biden-Harris administration, is a possible contender for Harrisā running mate should she win the nomination. Asked twice if he would consider being Harrisā running mate, Cooper instead said the focus needs to be on Harris alone this week.
āThe vice presidential conversation needs to occur later,ā Cooper said. āI want to make sure Kamala Harris wins. Iām going to work for her all over this country and do what I can to stop Donald Trump.ā
Cooper also said he had a conversation with President Joe Biden on Sunday, where he told him he ācemented his legacy among the greatest of presidents.ā
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says Harris called him after Bidenās announcement
āThe vice president called me personally yesterday and called me within a couple of hours of President Bidenās announcement," Beshear said. "And that meant a lot to me, to reach out to me personally and ask for my support.ā
The Democratic governor said he pledged his support to her.
āThe rest of that conversation I said would stay between us,ā he said.
Asked if she mentioned the No. 2 spot on the ticket, Beshear said: āIām not going to get into any of those details, but the call was about asking for my support and I pledged it.ā
Harris heading to Delaware to meet with Biden campaign staff
Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Delaware to meet with staffers of the reelection campaign that President Joe Biden gave up.
Her office says Harris will hold a ācampaign engagementā in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday afternoon. Biden reelection campaign headquarters occupies space in two buildings there.
Biden endorsed Harris shortly after announcing he was leaving the presidential race. The campaign announced raising $49.6 million in the hours after his announcement.
Harris is not yet the formal Democratic presidential nominee, but top party elected officials and donors, as well as labor unions and leading advocacy groups, have endorsed her.
Secret Service director faces storm of criticism at congressional hearing
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced a storm of bipartisan criticism at a congressional hearing Monday, with many lawmakers asking why she had not yet resigned from her job in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
The director, whoās spent nearly three decades combined at the agency, remained defiant that she was the āright personā to lead the agency despite overseeing the āmost significant operational failureā in decades.
Even so, both Republicans and Democrats pushed Cheatle on why she wasnāt more forthcoming with details about what went wrong on July 13 or how she would ensure it never happens again.
āTell us what went wrong!ā Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, yelled at Cheatle. āTell us and donāt try to play a shell game with us.ā
Harris praises Biden but doesnāt mention her own candidacy in remarks at the White House
Vice President Kamala Harris says President Joe Bidenās list of accomplishments are āunmatched in modern history.ā
In her first public remarks since Biden announced he was leaving the presidential race, Harris made no comment of her own presidential candidacy.
Speaking at a Monday event with NCAA athletes on the lawn of the White House that Biden missed as he recovers from COVID-19, Harris said that Biden, in one term, got more done than many two-term presidents.
āI am firsthand witness that every day, our President Joe Biden fights for the American people,ā she said. āAnd we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.ā
Senior adviser to Obama: āDemocrats didnāt have a chance on Sunday and now they have a chanceā
David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said Bidenās withdrawal and his endorsement of Harris doesnāt simply erase concerns about Biden but elevates Harris as a motivating, tested national candidate whoās grown while in office.
āDemocrats didnāt have a chance on Sunday and now they have a chance,ā Axelrod told The Associated Press Monday. āItās really that simple.ā
āI think that itās a different race now because she has maybe some of his liabilities and she may have some of her own,ā Axelrod said. āBut no one judges her as too old, or unfit in that way.ā
The electoral map stays essentially the same, with Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin being the most pivotal states, he said. And within them, Harris will motivate in particular younger voters, Axelrod said.
But Harris faces the daunting task of launching a campaign and building one at the same time. āWhich is hard, but it can be done,ā Axelrod said.
The reaction in the Gaza Strip on Bidenās exit from the race
In the central city of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians coping with more than nine months of the devastating Israel-Hamas war say they feel indifferent about Bidenās withdrawal from the presidential election.
āWe feel the United States is a partner in the assault on Gaza,ā Hassan Shaqalieh told The Associated Press. āThe news that matters the most to us is the end of the war.ā
Biden in May presented a deal that aims to end the war in Gaza and return the Israeli hostages the Palestinian group Hamas kidnapped in their surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, but Washington is Israelās biggest political and military ally.
Hamza Fayyad who was displaced from the southern city of Khan Younis, says there has been no trust in Washington for the Palestinian peopleās aspiration to a state and end to Israelās occupation in the Palestinian territories.
āSomeone bad leaves, only for someone worse to come in,ā he said.
The reaction from China on Bidenās exit from the US presidential race
Chinaās foreign ministry on Monday said it had no comment on Bidenās exit from the presidential race, citing that āthe presidential elections are the U.S.ā² own affairs.ā
The official Xinhua news agency, however, opined that it āonce again exposed the ugly reality of U.S. politics.ā
āBidenās withdrawal once again expose the chaos and the essence of U.S. politics where partisan interests rule supreme and money drives elections,ā Xinhua said in an editorial.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorses Harris for president
The second-term Democratic governor from one of the most-contested presidential states said in a news release Monday, āToday, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States.ā
Whitmer continued, āIn Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back from overseas, and building an economy that works for working people.ā
Whitmer had been mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential prospect.
āSo Michigan, letās go to work,ā Whitmer said. āWe cannot let Donald Trump anywhere near the White House. Letās go!ā
Secret Service chief says she takes āfull responsibility for any security lapse of our agencyā after Trump rally attack
The director of the Secret Service says the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was the agencyās āmost significant operational failureā in decades.
Director Kimberly Cheatle told lawmakers Monday during a congressional hearing: āOn July 13, we failed.ā Cheatle says she takes full responsibility for the agencyās missteps related to the attack at Trumpās Pennsylvania rally earlier this month.
Prominent Democrats endorse Harris, who has no declared rival, as party rapidly coalesces around her
Additional endorsements Monday, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, left a dwindling list of potential rivals to Vice President Kamala Harris as she moves to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House.
Winning the nomination is only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Bidenās decision to exit the race, which she learned about on a Sunday morning call with the president. If sheās successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Bidenās with just over 100 days until Election Day.
Amid calls to resign, Secret Service director to testify before congressional committee
The Secret Service director is set to testify Monday before a congressional committee as calls mount for her to resign over security failures at a rally where a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The House Oversight Committee hearing will be Director Kimberly Cheatleās first appearance before lawmakers since the July 13 Pennsylvania rally shooting that left one spectator dead.
Lawmakers have been expressing anger over how the gunman could get so close to the Republican presidential nominee when he was supposed to be carefully guarded.
How Vice President Kamala Harris, in sweats, began launching her presidential bid
As President Joe Biden was deciding to withdraw from the race Sunday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris had multiple phone conversations with him, according to a person familiar who spoke only on background to more freely divulge details.
Harris was at the vice presidentās residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington. She was surrounded by family and staff and wore a hooded Howard University sweatshirt, workout sweats and sneakers, the person said.
She spent 10-plus hours Sunday placing calls to more than 100 party leaders, members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights organizations. Harris told all that she was grateful Biden endorsed her upon leaving the race but she planned to earn the Democratic presidential nomination in her own right.
The vice president also called her pastor, Amos Brown III, who, along with his wife, prayed over her.
Harris arranged lunch and dinner for assembled aides. They ate afternoon sandwiches and salad and pizza in the evening. Harrisā pizza had anchovies, which the person said is her go-to topping.
ā Will Weissert
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear endorses Harris while sidestepping questions about becoming her running mate
āThe vice president is smart and strong, which will make her a good president,ā Beshear said during a Monday morning appearance on MSNBC. āBut sheās also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president.ā
Beshear praised Harrisā resume as a former prosecutor and says sheās ready to assume the presidency. He says heās willing to do everything he can to support her.
Asked if heās open to potentially joining the ticket, Beshear said he loves his job as governor. āThe only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country,ā he said.
Beshear defeated Trump-endorsed Republicans to win the governorship in 2019 and to win reelection last year in his Republican-leaning state.
Sen. Joe Manchin says - again - that heās not running for president
Speaking on Monday to CBS, the West Virginia Democrat-turned-independent said āI donāt need that in my life.ā
Manchin had been the latest senator to call for Biden to exit the 2024 race before Sundayās announcement by Biden that he would do just that.
Manchin had already mulled a late-breaking 2024 White House bid of his own but said in February after a listening tour that he didnāt want to be a āspoiler.ā As a Democrat, he had often bucked his own partyās leadership.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister praises Bidenās ācourageous and difficult decisionā
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel praised President Joe Biden for his announcement that heās ending his bid for reelection.
āIt takes courage for a politician to say āIām a bit old and Iām not capable of doing it anymore,āā Bettel said, describing it as a ācourageous and difficult decisionā by Biden.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York endorses Harris
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, endorsed Harris and called her āan unwavering champion for families, workers and justice.ā
Gillibrand, who ran against Harris in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, said in a statement Monday that the vice president is āincredibly well-qualified, with experience as a prosecutor, as a lawmaker, and as a leader on the world stage.ā
āNow is the time to unite,ā the senator said. āVP Harris has the grit and toughness to beat Donald Trump and Iām eager to join her in this fight.ā
Small
-dollar donations total $46.7 million for Harris
ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, announced that it had collected $46.7 million as of 9 p.m. ET from small-dollar donations for Vice President Harrisā campaign.
The Biden campaign and affiliated groups previously had about $96 million in cash on hand. The Republican National Convention, by contrast, reported a campaign fund of $102 million in June.
Trumpās campaign quickly pivots to Harris after Biden withdraws
Donald Trumpās campaign has spent the last year and a half viciously attacking Joe Biden, ridiculing his policies, mocking his fumbles and relishing a rematch they felt they were winning.
But it has also spent weeks preparing for the possibility that he might exit the race, readying a bevy of attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris that it unleashed as soon as Biden made his stunning announcement Sunday that he would step aside.
Biden soon after endorsed Harris, who was quickly winning support from Democrats to be the partyās nominee.
The shakeup less than four months before Election Day lays out new challenges for Trumpās team, which had until recently been focused on contrasting the former presidentās vigor and mental acuity with Bidenās.
Read more about the Trump campaign's pivot toward Harris.