Schumer and Jeffries endorse Harris for president

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Kamala Harris for president at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

“Now that the process has played out from the grassroots and the bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” Schumer told reporters.

"Kamala Harris will fight for our freedom. Kamala Harris will fight for our families. Kamala Harris will fight for our future. I'm proud to strongly endorse Kamala Harris to be the 47th president of the United States of America,” Jeffries said.

The joint endorsement of Harris follows her success Monday night in securing the necessary delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. It’s a further show of force behind Harris after a flood of party endorsements, congressional and otherwise, came in immediately after President Joe Biden announced his decision to drop out.

Some in the party expected the endorsement could come as early as Monday and were surprised by a placeholder statement from Jeffries and Schumer that day that said she was “off to a great start.” Still, multiple Democrats anticipated an endorsement was coming soon, characterizing it as only a matter of time.

A person familiar with the two leaders' thinking said they were waiting for Harris to lock down a majority of delegates and secure the nomination. Schumer told reporters Harris said Sunday she had “wanted the opportunity to win the nomination on her own, and to do so from the grassroots up, not the top down,” and they had respected her commitment to earning the party’s support.

Jeffries and Schumer have repeatedly said they will meet with Harris “soon,” though they haven’t publicly set a specific date. Asked about Harris' potential vice presidential nominee, Schumer said to ask the current vice president.

Although Jeffries hadn't yet formally endorsed Harris on Tuesday morning when he addressed House Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting, he had praised Biden's "patriotic decision" to pass the torch to Harris and said she'd become the 47th president with their help, according to two people familiar with the matter, prompting a standing ovation from lawmakers.