WASHINGTON – Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrats in Congress, will support it. Kamala Harris Three sources familiar with his plans to run for president told NBC News on Tuesday.
Both New York leaders will make the announcement during a press conference at 1:00 p.m. local time, sources said.
Including when many Democrats were elected President Joe Biden, quickly announced their support for Harris, with the Senate Majority Leader and House Minority Leader saying they wanted to meet with him in person first. That meeting has not yet taken place, sources close to the leaders told NBC News. But both Jefferies and Schumer spoke to Harris by phone.
Schumer and Jeffries’ endorsements come a day after Harris’s won the support of the majority of pledging delegates For the Democratic Convention. This vote is for Harris to be the party’s official presidential nominee will happen in early August on the eve of the party congress.
Schumer and Jeffries, who serve with Harris in the Senate, spoke favorably of Harris and his campaign after Biden announced Sunday that he would not seek re-election, but they stopped short of offering a formal endorsement. In a statement Monday, the leaders said Harris is “off to a great start” and look forward to “meeting with Vice President Harris in person soon as we collectively work to unite the country with the Democratic Party.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., confirmed On Monday, Harris spoke to a wide range of Democrats in Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. and popular governors mentioned as potential rivals Harris to run for president – to support the vice president. Although no longer in the lead, Pelosi played a key role It makes way for Harris, keeping Biden out of the 2024 campaign.
So were Schumer and Jeffries a serious, personal conversations in the weeks following a disastrous debate with Biden that raised lingering concerns about his ability to be re-elected.
Schumer met with Biden on July 13 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and told the president he was there with “love and affection” but made a clear case for him to drop out of the race, a source familiar with the conversation told NBC. The president reportedly has three important considerations to consider: his legacy, the future of the country and his influence on Congress, according to the source, who urged Biden to consider the Supreme Court.
“I don’t expect you to walk out of this room with a decision, but I hope you will think about what I said,” Schumer told the meeting.
Biden replied, “I need another week,” and then the two leaders hugged.
Schumer didn’t say much publicly the following week, instead speaking privately with Democratic members, White House staffers, Jeffries, Pelosi and former President Barack Obama.
Schumer strongly believed that calling out the president publicly would be “counterproductive” and could embarrass the president. He also believed that the best way for Democrats to approach the situation was with some humanity, not just cold political calculation. Regardless of Biden’s decision, Democrats needed him to campaign for himself or another Democratic candidate.
A week later, as he suggested to Schumer, Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the race and endorsed Harris.
Rebecca Kaplan and Ali Vitaly contributed.