Washington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday, saying they held off until now because they didn't want to make it appear as a coronation.
"When I spoke with her Sunday, she said she wanted the opportunity to win the nomination on her own, and to do so from the grassroots up, not top down. We deeply respected that, Hakeem and I did. She said she would work to earn the support of our party, and boy, has she done so," Schumer said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
Schumer said Harris "has done a truly impressive job securing the majority of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party's nomination."
"Now that the process has played out from the grassroots, bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris," he said.
Jeffries echoed Schumer, adding that said he was "proud to strongly endorse" Harris for the White House. He predicted Democrats would maintain control of the Senate and flip the House in November with Harris leading the ticket.
After President Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday, much of the Democratic Party quickly coalesced around Harris, who is now projected to have the support of a majority of the delegates needed to capture the nomination. Congressional leaders, however, were slower to endorse her, even as other Democrats enthusiastically announced they supported her candidacy.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the former House speaker, endorsed Harris on Monday, ending speculation about whether she would push for a competitive primary.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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