WASHINGTON — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in Congress, and Sen. Chuck Schumer endorsed Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday.
Both Schumer and Jeffries, who are from New York, made the announcement at a press conference where both emphasized the enthusiasm throughout the Democratic conventions for Harris’ nomination. “We are excited, excited, united,” Schumer told reporters.
Jeffries echoed that sentiment, saying Harris is “ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.”
While several elected Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have quickly announced their support for Harris, the Senate majority leader and House minority leader have said they want to meet with him in person first. That meeting has not yet taken place, sources close to the leaders told NBC News. But both Jeffries and Schumer have spoken with Harris on the phone.
“When I spoke with her on Sunday, she said she wanted the opportunity to win the nomination herself, not from the top down, but from the bottom up. We respected that deeply, Hakeem and I did,” Schumer said.
“We’re here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris now that this process has played out from the ground up and from the bottom up,” he said.
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Schumer and Jeffries’ endorsements come a day after Harris received support from a majority of pledged delegates to the Democratic convention. That vote to make Harris the party’s official candidate for president will take place in early August ahead of the party’s convention.
Both Schumer and Jeffries, who served with Harris in the Senate while waiting to speak with her before formally endorsing her, had positive things to say about Harris and her campaign, and Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election. In a statement Monday, the leaders said Harris was “off to a great start” and “look forward to meeting with Vice President Harris in person soon as we work together to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed Harris on Monday, joining a wide range of congressional Democrats — including progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. ., and popular governors mentioned as potential rivals to Harris in the presidential election — in supporting the vice president. Although no longer in the leadership role, Pelosi was instrumental in getting Biden to drop out of the 2024 campaign, paving the way for Harris.
Schumer and Jeffries had intense, personal conversations with Biden after a disastrous debate that raised unshakable concerns about his ability to run for re-election.
Schumer, who met with Biden in Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach on July 13, told the president she was there out of “love and affection” but made a case for dropping out of the race altogether, a source familiar with their conversation told NBC. He urged Biden to think about three important things the president must consider: his legacy, the future of the country and the impact of Congress on the Supreme Court.
Schumer ended the meeting by saying, “I don’t expect you to make a decision from this room, but I hope you will think about what I said,” the source said.
Biden responded: “I need one more week,” and the two leaders hugged.
Schumer didn’t speak much publicly over the next week, but instead spoke privately with members of the Democratic Party, White House staff, Jeffries, Pelosi and former President Barack Obama.
Schumer strongly believed that calling out the president publicly would be “counterproductive” and potentially embarrass the president. He also believed that the best way for Democrats to approach the situation would be with some humanity. Regardless of Biden’s decision, Democrats will be able to campaign for him or another Democratic candidate.
A week later, Biden backed Harris by announcing his decision to drop out of the race, as he suggested to Schumer.
