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Helen Sullivan (now); Maanvi SinghChris Stein, Martin Belam and Helen Sullivan (earlier)

Harris secures support of majority of delegates – as it happened

Kamala Harris Joe Biden United States ActBlue Donald Trump
Vice-president Kamala Harris arrives for an event at the White House on 22 July.
Vice-president Kamala Harris arrives for an event at the White House on 22 July. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

This live blog has now closed – follow the latest live coverage at the link below:

If you’re just tuning in: Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the day after Biden’s exit from the race and her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations on Monday.

Several state delegations met late Monday to confirm their support for Harris, including Texas and her home state of California. By Monday night, Harris had the support of well more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot, according to the AP tally. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.

California state Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75% to 80% of the state’s delegation were on a call Tuesday and they unanimously supported Harris.

“I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,” Hicks said. “Tonight’s vote was a momentous one.”

Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.

The column also mentioned recent remarks by Trump, flaunting his ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“It’s nice to get along with somebody who has a lot of nuclear weapons,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week.

While acknowledging Trump’s efforts to build ties during his 2017-2021 presidency, the column said no substantial positive change was brought about.

The US and South Korea have been increasingly alarmed by deepening military cooperation between Russia and the North, accusing them of violating international laws by trading in arms for Russia to use against Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied any arms transfer.

A delegation of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation arrived in Pyongyang on Monday in the latest sign of closer ties between the two countries.

Updated

Meanwhile North Korean state media on Tuesday criticized the United States for its elections and cast doubt over hopes of dialogue in the future regardless of the outcome of the US presidential race in November.

The political climate between Democrats and Republicans is “confused by the infighting” and will not change, said a column carried by KCNA without the name of the author.

“Dialogue with sinister attempt and such dialogue as an extension of confrontation are needless to be held from the outset,” the column from the reclusive communist-ruled country said.

Updated

Here is Biden’s call to the Harris campaign team event earlier on Monday:

Harris statement on becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee

The Harris campaign has released a statement confirming that she has received the support needed to become the Democratic party’s nominee (though a reminder, has not yet been nominated) and that she looks forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.

Here is the full statement:

When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination. Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.

I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people.

This election will present a clear choice between two different visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. 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.

Over the next few months, I will be traveling across the country talking to Americans about everything that is on the line. I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November.”

With Harris raising record funding and securing the support of the majority of delegates, one of the next questions will be: what does polling say.

The last major Harris-Trump polling was conducted when Harris was a hypothetical candidate. She is now the likely nominee.

The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman was on CNN a short while ago, where she said that Biden’s campaign messaging has been “sporadic at best” –and that “when someone is framing the argument against Donald #Trump in a sustained way, that could have a very different effect on the polling than what we’ve seen so far. It may not, but there’s just been an absence of that.”

Delegates could still change their minds before 7 August, but nobody else received any votes in the AP survey, for example, and just 57 delegates said they were undecided.

In a call on Friday, before Biden dropped out, Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a member of the party’s rules committee, likened the process of selecting a new presidential nominee to a mini-primary, with delegates as the voting audience. If Biden were to drop out, the process would be “scrunched into three weeks or something. It’d be incredibly tight.” The question at the convention would then become whether a consensus had formed on a new nominee.

But that’s not exactly what’s happened. Instead, members of the California Democratic party have begun circulating a Google document asking delegates to pledge their support for Harris publicly and immediately. A second Google document was circulating to delegates with a form for pledging their support for Harris on a petition.

It’s been more than 50 years since delegates to a Democratic national convention haven’t known their nominee as they walked through the door. Now, in the wake of Joe Biden’s decision on Sunday not to seek re-election, there’s a mad dash.

Delegates are due to convene in Chicago on 19 August, and while the Democratic party seems to be coalescing around Kamala Harris, there’s no guarantee that she will be the nominee, and others could still throw their name into contention.

But just a few hours after Biden’s announcement, Google documents were circulating asking delegates to pledge their support for Harris.

Delegates are, by and large, local volunteers expected to spend thousands of dollars to fly to Chicago and attend the convention. It’s often viewed as a reward for activism and dedication, but it’s typically a far less consequential role than it might be next month.

New York delegation endorses Harris

The New York delegation to the DNC has endorsed Harris, it confirmed on X. New York has 307 delegates:

Harris will not preside over the chamber when when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.

According to an aide, she will meet with Netanyahu at the White House at some point this week. On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to be in Indianapolis to moderate a conversation with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Inc, one of the nation’s oldest Black sororities.

Harris’s absence during Netanyahu’s controversial address underlines the mounting tension between the Biden administration and the right-wing prime minister, as the death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza surpasses 39,000.

The vice president, who serves as president of the Senate, would typically preside over the chamber on such occasions, sitting on the House rostrum next to the Speaker as she has done previously for addresses by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Israeli president Isaac Herzog.

The aide emphasized that Harris’s absence should not be interpreted as a snub or change in her commitment to Israel’s security, but represented a scheduling conflict.

During her meeting with Netanyahu this week, the vice president is expected to discuss Israel’s security, as well as to again condemn the 7 October attack and the acts of sexual violence that have occured while stressing her concern for the humanitariain situtaion in Gaza.

Updated

In case you missed Harris’s speech to campaign staff, here is a key clip:

Texas delegation endorses Harris

The Texas delegation to the DNC has just put out a statement saying it endorses Harris. Texas has 273 delegates, the third highest after California and New York.

Tonight, the Texas Democratic National Delegation proudly announced our endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee for President. Her historic tenure as the first Black and South Asian woman to hold the office of the Vice President has been marked by an unwavering commitment to justice, equity, and progress for all Americans. With her extensive experience, dedication to public service, and proven leadership, we believe Kamala Harris is uniquely qualified to defeat Donald Trump and lead our nation forward – championing the values and ideals that unite us as a country.”

Updated

Meanwhile Donald Trump on Monday pressed a New York appeals court to overturn the nearly $500m New York civil fraud judgment that threatens to drain his personal cash reserves as he campaigns to retake the White House, AP reports.

In paperwork filed with the state’s mid-level appeals court, the former president’s lawyers said Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 finding that Trump lied to banks, insurers and others about his wealth was “erroneous” and “egregious.”

Trump’s appeal arguments echoed many of the gripes he delivered during his trial to TV cameras outside the courtroom.

His lawyers argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit should have been promptly dismissed, the statute of limitations barred some allegations, that no one was harmed by Trump’s alleged fraud and that James’ involvement in private business transactions threatens to drive business out of the state.

Trump’s lawyers contend that Engoron’s decision, if upheld, would bestow James, a Democrat, with “limitless power to target anyone she desires, including her self-described political opponents,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a 116-page filing with the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court.

An Associated Press survey has found that Vice-President Kamala Harris has support from enough Democratic delegates to become party’s presidential nominee.

Earlier on Monday, top Democrats rallied to support Harris in their bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Harris was headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday 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.

Joe Biden’s departure freed his delegates to vote for whomever they choose at next month’s convention. And Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, was working to quickly secure support from a majority.

Big-name Harris endorsements Monday, including from governors Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, left a vanishing list of potential rivals.

House speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party.

Updated

By Monday night, Harris had the support of at least 2,471 delegates, according to the AP tally of delegates, more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.

California state Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75% to 80% of the state’s delegation were on a call Tuesday and they unanimously supported Harris. California has 496 delegates, the highest of any state.

“I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,” Hicks said. “Tonight’s vote was a momentous one.”

Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.

Updated

Congressman Robert Garcia, of Long Beach, one of the California DNC delegates, has confirmed that they voted unanimously to nominate Harris, handing her the votes to secure a majority and become the likely Democratic nominee:

California delegates vote to endorse Harris as nominee

Kamala Harris has earned enough delegates to become the likely Democratic party nominee, after California delegates voted unanimously to endorse Harris.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi made the motion to endorse Harris for president at a virtual meeting of California’s DNC delegation on Monday evening, a spokesperson confirmed.

Pelosi, who represents San Francisco in Congress, announced that with the endorsement of California’s delegation, Harris – a native Californian – had earned enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.

Politico reports that California delegates voted unanimously to support Harris:

Updated

Harris secures enough endorsements for likely nomination - reports

Breaking: Kamala Harris has secured the support of the majority of Democratic delegates, signalling she is likely to become her party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump next month, according to an Associated Press survey taken in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s 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 party’s donors, elected officials and other leaders.

However, the Associated Press is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s 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.

Reuters is also reporting that Harris has secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination – citing campaign sources.

Kamala Harris was closing in on the Democratic party’s presidential nomination on Monday after the former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, joined a slew of Democratic heavyweights endorsing her run for the White House – and the vice-president gave a rousing evening speech to campaign staff, with Joe Biden calling in by phone to support her.

Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team.

“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation, and to win this election”.

Updated

Summary

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

  • Harris broke presidential fundraising records, with $81m raised in 24 hours – $15m short of what Biden has raised over months of his campaign so far. On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96m at the end of June. She added $81m to that total in the first 24 hours after Biden’s endorsement, her campaign said — a presidential fundraising record — with contributions from more than 888,000 donors.

  • In a speech to campaign staffers, Harris said that building up the middle class would be a defining goal of my presidency’. She will work to build a country “where every person has affordable healthcare, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity,” she said. “All of this is to say, building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” she said.

  • She also spoke about abortion, attacked Trump’s economic policies, and appeared to choose a campaign song: Beyoncé’s ‘Freedom’. Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris turned to Donald Trump’s economic and social welfare policies, saying, “We are not going back”. Trump would put Social Security and Medicare “on the chopping block”, she said, turning healthcare into something that was only for the wealthy.

  • America’s freedom was fought for by its founders, framers, abolitionists, suffragettes, freedom riders, farm workers, she said. “And now I say, team, the baton is in our hands. We, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote. We who are committed to fight to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. We who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence. And that’s why we will work to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.”

  • Harris’ campaign aims to wrap up her presidential nomination by Wednesday and secure a majority of the nearly 4,000 convention delegates needed to win, Reuters reports, citing four unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

  • A survey by the Associated Press has found that Harris has the support of more than half of the delegates she’ll need to take President Biden’s 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.

  • Biden will return to the White House on Tuesday and is expected to address the nation later this week. President Joe Biden’s “symptoms have almost resolved completely” from Covid-19, according to his physician, as the president on Monday remained out of public view for the fifth straight day.

  • The leader of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee will preside over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, Senate aides have told Reuters, as Harris will be traveling outside Washington.

  • Bernie Sanders has still refrained from endorsing Harris, though he said he thinks she will be the nominee, and stands a chance of winning the election with a big vote.

  • Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison said on Monday the Democratic party will deliver a presidential nominee by 7 August and is committed to an “open and fair” nominating process.

Updated

Senate Foreign Relations Committee leader to preside over Netanyahu speech instead of Harris

The leader of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee will preside over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, Senate aides have told Reuters, as Harris will be traveling outside Washington.

The vice president, who serves as president of the Senate, was scheduled to be in Indiana on Wednesday. An aide said she would meet with Netanyahu separately this week.

Senator Ben Cardin, the committee’s Democratic chairperson, will be presiding, an aide said on Monday.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray, who as president pro tempore normally would preside in the absence of Harris, said she was not attending Netanyahu’s address.

“Securing a lasting, mutual ceasefire is of the utmost importance right now, and I will continue to push for one to be reached as soon as possible,” Murray said in a statement.

She added that she hoped Netanyahu would use his speech to address how he plans to secure a ceasefire and lasting peace.

Murray is one of a few members of Congress who have said they will skip the address. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said Netanyahu should not be welcomed into Congress and in a statement harshly criticized his “war machine.”

CNN reports that Biden will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday:

Bernie Sanders has still refrained from endorsing Harris, though he said he thinks she will be the nominee, and stands a chance of winning the election with a big vote.

“My hope is if the Vice President stands up and says you know what, it is not acceptable that 60% of our population are living pay check to pay check… if she is prepared to campaign on an agenda that speaks to the working class of this country she is going to win and she is going to win big in my view,” he said.

Here is a stark reminder of how quickly Harris raised her record funding – in a single day, Harris almost matched the total raised by the Biden campaign so far.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96m at the end of June. She added $81m to that total in the first 24 hours after Biden’s endorsement, her campaign said — a presidential fundraising record — with contributions from more than 888,000 donors.

The campaign also saw a surge of interest after Harris took over, with more than 28,000 new volunteers registered since the announcement — a rate more than 100 times an average day from the previous Biden reelection campaign, underscoring the enthusiasm behind Harris.

Biden is expected to address the nation this week, but as far as we know there is no event scheduled for Tuesday, so it does not appear at this stage that it will be then.

Biden to return to White House tomorrow - report

Joe Biden will return to the White House on Tuesday afternoon, and has no events scheduled, according to the White House. He has been staying at his home in Rehoboth, Delaware while isolating with Covid.

It’s not confirmed whether this means he has tested negative.

Updated

Democrats first announced in May that they’d hold a virtual roll call, AP reports. Biden’s withdrawal from the race doesn’t change its plans, only complicates them.

Harris is still in the strongest position by far to emerge as her party’s nominee. Since Biden left the race and endorsed her, the vice president has been backed by hundreds of Democratic lawmakers, governors and some of the country’s most powerful unions — as well as members of the convention delegations in several states.

Meanwhile, no major Democrat has announced plans to challenge Harris, who would be the first woman of color nominated for president by a major party.

Democratic National Convention chair Minyon Moore said Monday that the virtual process was necessary and could prevent possible floor fights in Chicago.

“An in-person, contested convention simply cannot accommodate the potential of a multi-round nomination process for the presidential nominee, who then must select a vice presidential nominee, and still meet the ballot access certification requirements in each of the states necessary to the Democratic path to victory,” Moore told reporters. “Once in person in Chicago, we will be united as a party.”

Representative Maxwell Frost, a 27-year-old Florida Democrat who was a leading voice for outreach to young voters for the Biden reelection campaign, posted on X on Monday: “Just because the VP is such a unifying candidate & getting many endorsements, doesn’t mean this process isn’t open. Anyone can run.”

In 2020, the in-person Democratic convention was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and states used a virtual process to formally nominate Biden. Democrats meeting in Chicago still plan a state-by-state roll call that is a fixture of nominating conventions, although it will likely be ceremonial since virtual voting should have settled who the nominee will be.

The DNC had said earlier that a virtual vote would take place between 1 August and 5 August, in order to have the nomination process completed by 7 August, the date by which Ohio law had required a nominee to be in place to make the state’s ballot.

Ohio lawmakers subsequently pushed back the deadline to 1 September, but party officials said they hoped to beat the 7 August deadline to avoid any legal risk in the state.

“By executing this process swiftly and effectively, we will bring our party together as we head to the convention in Chicago united,” said Minyon Moore, the chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Harris campaign aims to secure support of majority of delegates by Wednesday - report

Harris’ campaign aims to wrap up her presidential nomination by Wednesday and secure a majority of the nearly 4,000 convention delegates needed to win, Reuters reports, citing four unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

There is also more detail from the DNC on how it all works:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Monday the Democratic Party will deliver a presidential nominee by 7 August and is committed to an “open and fair” nominating process.

Earlier on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly consolidated support for her presidential bid and secured commitments from hundreds of convention delegates.

President Joe Biden has endorsed Harris as his successor, but he cannot force delegates to follow his lead. Locking in delegate support is essential to ensuring Harris replaces Biden on the 5 November ballot as the party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump.

“I want to assure you that we are committed to an open and fair nominating process,” the DNC’s Harrison told reporters on a conference call.

“The work ahead may be unprecedented, but we are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic party.”

Minyon Moore, the chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, said a virtual nominating process ahead of the 19-22 August event in Chicago was still needed.

“There is still a need for a virtual component to our nominating process. That has not changed,” she said, adding an electronic voting system would be used to ensure deadlines were met.

Updated

'Harris has support of more than half of delegates needed' – Associated Press

A survey by the Associated Press has found that Harris has the support of more than half of the delegates she’ll need to take President Biden’s 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.

Four more governors have endorsed Harris. Here is who they are and what they said:

1. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said, “She’s tough, she’s smart and she’s ready to unite the country.”

2. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said, “Americans are looking for a new generation of leadership that will move past the divisiveness and unite us around our shared American values.”

3. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said, “Harris has always done what’s best for American families,” citing her record on abortion rights and helping to “safeguard democracy.”

4. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy called Harris “a proven leader who has delivered for the American people again and again.”

Harris to hold first official campaign event in Milwaukee on Tuesday

Politico reports that Kamala Harris will hold her first official campaign event as presidential candidate tomorrow in Milwaukee. More soon.

JD Vance at second rally: 'Kamala Harris is a million times worse [than Biden]'

Meanwhile Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, has held his second rally of the day, in Virginia.

The Ohio senator campaigned at his former high school in Middletown on Monday before an evening stop in Radford, Virginia, two venues intended to play up his conservative populist appeal across the Rust Belt and small-town America that he said the Biden-Harris administration has forgotten.

“History will remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States of America,” Vance said in Virginia.

“But my friends, Kamala Harris is a million times worse and everybody knows it. She signed up for every single one of Joe Biden’s failures, and she lied about his mental capacity to serve as president.”

Democrats, he said in Virginia, lied “for three-and-a-half years” only to “pull a switcheroo.”

Vance also seemed to question Harris’ patriotism, saying that when she gives a speech, “she talks about the history of this country not with appreciation but with condemnation.” He compared his service in the Marine Corps and small business ownership to Harris “collecting a government paycheck for the last 20 years.”

Updated

CNN senior political commentator Van Jones says that Harris has “gone from cringe to cool in 24 hours”.

“What’s happening on TikTok is extraordinary,” he says. “All of the things that were cringey about Kamala: her laugh, the coconut tree comment, being unburdened by – all those weird things that she said, she’s gone from cringe to cool in 24 hours as a whole generation has taken all that content and remixed it in all these incredible content videos.”

Her campaign is leaning into it – a donate page made to look like a 404 error page says “This page exists in the context of all that came before it” – a reference to Harris’s much memed “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree” speech:

Here is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez interviewed a short while ago about Harris, who she said is “more than up to the task”.

She said that people need to brace themselves for racist and misogynistic attacks:

DNC chair says party will deliver nominee by 7 August, ahead of convention

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Monday the Democratic party will deliver a presidential nominee by 7 August and is committed to an “open and fair” nominating process.

This means a nominee will be chosen before the DNC, which starts on 19 August.

Earlier on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly consolidated support for her presidential bid and secured commitments from hundreds of convention delegates.

“I want to assure you that we are committed to an open and fair nominating process,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison told reporters on a conference call.

“The work ahead may be unprecedented, but we are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic party.”

Updated

Harris’s delivery was lively, confident and joyful. Her campaign staff sounded energized. She is going to need that energy: she has a daunting to-do list.

She and her staff need to whip up a presidential campaign almost from scratch. It’s a process that usually takes months, even years. Harris has only about two months before early voting starts. That means she is in a rush to raise money, figure out a strategy, hire staff, win delegates, set up a website, make some ads, plan a convention and on and on. The checklist is long, but at least, as of Monday morning, she has a campaign logo.

Harris’s speech started and ended with Beyoncé’s Freedom playing – could this be the song of her campaign?

“To all the friends here I say, in this election we know we each face a question of what kind of country do we want to live in. A country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate.”

“You as leaders know, we each, including our neighbours and our friends and our family, we each as Americans have the power to answer that question.”

“So in the next 106 days, we have work to do, we have doors to knock on, we have people to talk to, we have phone calls to make, and we have an election to win. So are you ready to get to work?” she said, to huge cheers of “Yes”.

“And when we fight?” she called, “We win,” said the crowd.

“God bless you all and God bless the United States of America and Joe Biden” she said.

Updated

'The government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body' - Harris

“We who will fight for reproductive freedom, knowing if Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every state. But we will not let that happen,” she said.

“It is this team here that is going to help this November to elect a majority of members of US Congress who agree that the government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” she said to huge applause. “And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the US I will sign it into law,” she said.

“We the people,” someone quipped from the back. “We the people indeed,” Harris said.

America’s freedom was fought for by its founders, framers, abolitionists, suffragettes, freedom riders, farm workers, she said.

“And now I say, team, the baton is in our hands. We, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote. We who are committed to fight to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. We who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence. And that’s why we will work to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.”

Trump meanwhile, “would weaken the middle class and take us backward,” she said, “Take the country back to the failed trickle-down policies that gave huge tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.”

“America has tried these economic policies before. They do not lead to prosperity. They lead to inequity and economic injustice. And we are not going back. We are not going back. They’re not taking us down.”

Harris: 'Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency'

She will work to build a country “where every person has affordable healthcare, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity,” she said.

“All of this is to say, building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” she said.

Updated

“Our campaign has always been about two different visions for our country. One focused on the future, and one focused on the past. Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards,” she said.

“We belive in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead”.

“And it is my intention to go out and earn this nomination, and to win,” Harris said.

She repeated comparisons to her prosecuting people for sexual abuse, and Trump being found liable for sexual abuse by a jury, of taking on for-profit colleges and Trump starting one, her work on the foreclosure crisis, on environmental justice – Trump, meanwhile “stood in Mar a Lago and told oil companies he would do their bidding for a $1bn campaign contribution.”

“But make no mistake, that being said, this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump”.

“And so we have 106 days until election day, and in that time we have a lot of hard work to do,” she said.

She named her campaign director (a person with the nickname JOD – we’re on the case of finding the name), and said “We will take our case to the American people, and we will win.” She repeated some of Biden’s achievements – getting the pandemic under control, creating jobs, uniting people on both sides of the aisle. Biden has stood up for democracy at home and abroad, and stood up for what’s right, she said. She spoke about Biden’s son Beau, who died, and the qualities Beau admired in his father.

The “type” Harris was referring to? She said, “Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.”

“I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said, referring to her job as California attorney general and a prosecutor. She paused for applause and cheers, “And in this campaign I will proudly, I will proudly put my record against his”.

Updated

'We are not going back': Harris attacked Trump's economic and social policies in speech

Let’s take a look back at the key points from Harris’s speech. Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris turned to Donald Trump’s economic and social welfare policies, saying, “We are not going back”.

Trump would put Social Security and Medicare “on the chopping block”, she said, turning healthcare into something that was only for the wealthy.

Updated

Joe Biden has meanwhile called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, moments after shocking police video was released showing an Illinois officer fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called police fearing a home intruder.

In his first public statement since dropping his bid for re-election, Biden said the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by white Sangamon county sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, in her home in Springfield, after a dispute over a pot of boiling water, “reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not”.

Harris ended her speech with “God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America and Joe Biden.”

Hi, this is Helen Sullivan taking over our live US politics coverage. I’ll be with you for the next while – thanks for following along.

'The baton is in our hands': Harris gives energetic speech to campaign staff

From the Associated Press:

Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Kamala Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team.

“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.”

She quickly leaned into the themes that will be prominent in her campaign against Trump over the coming 100 days, contrasting her time as a prosecutor with Trump’s felony convictions — “I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said — and casting herself as a defender of economic opportunity and abortion access.

“Our fight for the future is also a fight for freedoms,” she said. “The baton is in our hands.”

The president called into the meeting from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is recovering from COVID-19, to lend his support to Harris. He planned to talk about his decision to step aside in an address to the nation later this week.

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” Biden said in his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step aside, promising he was “not going anywhere” and plans to campaign on Harris’ behalf.

Biden said of his decision to step aside, “It was the right thing to do.”

As he handed off the mantle of leadership to Harris, Biden added: “I’m watching you kid. I love you.”

Closing summary

In her first speech since Joe Biden ended his bid for re-election, Kamala Harris said the president’s accomplishments were “unmatched in modern history”. The president has yet to make a public appearance as he continues to recover from Covid-19. He has said he will do whatever Harris needs him to and will continue to stay engaged even though he won’t be on the ballot.

Meanwhile, Democrats nationwide are lining up behind the vice-president, including potential presidential contenders Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, and JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois. Congresswoman and Democratic party grandée Nancy Pelosi is also backing Harris to be the party’s nominee for president.

Here’s what else has happened today:

  • Harris’s presidential campaign announced it has raised $81m over the past 24 hours from hundreds of thousands of donors, most of whom were giving for the first time in this election.

  • Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and New York congressman, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, met with Harris for the first time since Biden stepped down.

  • The Secret Service director acknowledged the agency “failed” to protect Trump at a tense hearing following the attempt on his life in Pennsylvania. Top Republican and Democratic on House oversight committee join forces to seek Secret Service director’s resignation

  • Joe Manchin, a former Democratic senator who is now an independent, ruled out running for president.

– Chris Stein, Maanvi Singh and Coral Murphy Marcos

Updated

Tens of thousands of women joined a Zoom meeting on Sunday night to support Kamala Harris, raising over $1.5m in three hours.

The meeting, organized by Win with Black Women following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not seek reelection and his endorsement of Harris, saw 44,000 participants fundraise for the vice-president.

Representatives Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett and Joyce Beatty joined the call, motivating participants to organize for Harris’s presidential bid, according to the non-profit newsroom Capital B.

Attendees in the Zoom call left comments like “This is work. Roll up your sleeves we got work to do. Praying for protection and covering over all you sisters.”

Updated

Wisconsin’s Democratic party voted unanimously to endorse vice-president Kamala Harris for president.

“We’re united, fired up, and ready to deliver Wisconsin for Kamala Harris!” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin.

Harris is scheduled to visit Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, marking her fifth visit to Wisconsin in 2024 and her ninth time in Wisconsin since becoming vice-president. Support in this battleground state will be key for Harris, should she win the Democratic nomination.

Wisconsin’s delegates join the majority of delegates in several other states, including New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. In Harris’ home state of California, meanwhile, Harris’s supporters are seeking to shore up endorsements. The state party chair Rusty Hicks and other officials have been reaching out to delegates and compiling a list of those pilling to pledge support for the vice-president, according to Politico The state’s 496 delegates would go far in helping her lock up the nomination.

Updated

Harris’ campaign is aiming to lock up her presidential nomination by Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Her campaign officials have been furiously making hundreds of phone calls to lock in the support of the majority of Democratic delegates ahead of the party’s national convention in mid August. The news agency cited anonymous sources with knowledge of her campaign strategy.

About a quarter of delegates have already pledged support to her.

Updated

If Kamala Harris wins the nomination, who could be her running mate?

A Democratic party ticket led by Kamala Harris seems increasingly likely as scores of high-profile elected Democrats line up to endorse her for president in the wake of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

In Biden’s announcement that he would no longer pursue a second term, he thanked Harris “for being an extraordinary partner in all this work”, and later, in endorsing her, called his choice to run with her in 2020 “the best decision I’ve made”.

In short order, a series of powerful endorsements rolled in, including from Democrats formerly viewed as possible presidential candidates themselves, some of whom are now being floated as potential vice-presidential candidates on a Harris ticket.

If Harris takes up the mantle for the Democratic party, one of her first major decisions as a candidate will be choosing a running mate. Harris has not indicated who she would consider, but here are some of the names Democrats are floating, so far, as possible vice-presidential candidates:

Maura Healey, the Massachusetts governor, is among the latest to endorse Harris

She called the vice-president a “proven leader” in a statement.

“As president, she will grow our economy, reduce costs, create jobs, and make sure every woman has access to the healthcare she needs,” Healey said in a statement on Monday.

Updated

With 78-year-old Donald Trump now certain to face a Democratic candidate younger than he is, the Republican could have the tables turned on him over the questions of age and mental agility that he often sidestepped while Joe Biden was his opponent.

The age gap between Trump and any of his likely Democrat opponents – Kamala Harris, 59; the Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, 52; Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, 51 – could make him the sole focus of voters’ desire for a generational handover of power.

And with Biden’s often stumbling public appearances – and especially his disastrous debate – now a thing of the past, there is likely to be a fresh focus on Trump’s mental acuity and his frequently rambling, confused campaign speeches.

Last month, for example, Trump got the name of his own doctor wrong. Previously he has made high-profile campaign trail gaffes, in which he seemed to think Barack Obama was still president and mistook his arch Republican rival Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi.

Nearly 60% of US voters said last month that Biden should “definitely” or “probably” be replaced, while Trump’s favorability rating had risen to 40% since his hush-money conviction and the attempt on his life eight days ago. Harris’s favorability sits at around 39%.

Biden’s departure from the ticket upends several aspects of Republicans’ calculations, including that Trump the felon will now possibly have to debate Harris the former prosecutor in September – if she receives the nomination.

Updated

The California Democratic representative Eric Swalwell made a rare appearance on Fox News to support Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

The Guardian’s Coral Murphy Marcos reports:

“This is gonna be a race now about the past – in Trump – or the future. And rights or reversal,” Swalwell said.

“The rights she’ll protect – especially a woman’s right to make a decision about her body – and the rights that Trump has taken away with his SCOTUS nominees,” the congressman added.

The TV appearance comes after he publicly endorsed her on Sunday in a 42-second video, also condemning former President Donald Trump’s Project 2025 plan.

Updated

Harris is the first sitting vice-president or president to visit an abortion clinic.

She has described the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade and the abortion bans that now blanket the US south as “a healthcare crisis” and frames abortion rights as an issue of personal freedom.

“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body,” she told a crowd in Savannah, Georgia, in February.

Democrats hope that outrage over Roe’s downfall, which hobbled Republicans in the 2022 midterms and led GOP strongholds such as Ohio and Kansas to pass ballot measures protecting abortion rights, will boost turnout among their base – especially in battleground states like Nevada and Arizona. Both states are set to hold abortion–related ballot measures this year.

The biggest abortion rights groups in US politics are lining up behind Kamala Harris’s bid for president.

It’s a show of faith in a politician who has already become the face of the White House’s fight over abortion rights – which is not only one of the election’s biggest issues but one of the few where Democrats have the advantage.

Within hours of Joe Biden’s stunning announcement on Sunday that he would drop out of the presidential race and endorse the vice-president, Emilys List, which champions Democratic women who support abortion rights, and Reproductive Freedom for All, which advocates for abortion access and was previously known as Naral Pro-Choice America, officially endorsed Harris. Emilys List plans to pour at least $20m into the race in support of Harris.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund, whose endorsement must be ratified by local chapters, has not officially weighed in. However, its CEO and president, Alexis McGill Johnson, warmly commended Harris for keeping “the needs and experiences of patients and providers front and center”.

Harris has spent much of this year on a tour of the country in support of abortion rights, where she has proven to be a far more effective messenger on the issue than Biden. The president was infamously reluctant to even say the word “abortion” and fumbled answers to questions about it in the June debate that ultimately cost him his candidacy.

“Just right off the bat, she’s primed to run with the message around abortion rights,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers. “Her messaging around abortion and being out there forcefully on the issue is going to be a net positive for her.”

In addition to money, Kamala Harris has accrued a slate of endorsements from top Democrats in the 24 hours since she announced her presidential candidacy – including several who were viewed as potential challengers for the nomination.

The Guardian’s Martin Belam has been keeping track of all who are on the vice-president’s side:

Harris campaign announces all-time record fundraising in first 24 hours of candidacy

Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign announced it has raised $81m over the past 24 hours from hundreds of thousands of donors, most of whom were giving for the first time in this election.

The haul is the most money brought in by any candidate ever over a 24-hour period, her campaign said, and includes funds raised by the campaign, joint fundraising committees and the Democratic National Committee. More than 880,000 donors contributed, 60% of whom were making their first donation of the 2024 election cycle.

“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” Harris for president spokesperson Kevin Munoz said.

“Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election. There is a groundswell behind Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump is terrified because he knows his divisive, unpopular agenda can’t stand up to the Vice President’s record and vision for the American people.”

The Harris campaign says its war chest totals nearly $250m.

In a new letter, Joe Biden’s physician, Kevin C O’Connor, said the president was recovering well from Covid-19.

“His symptoms have almost resolved completely. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear. The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties,” O’Connor wrote.

Biden has no public events on his schedule today and is recovering at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He still has not spoken publicly about his decision to end his re-election bid, but the White House said earlier this afternoon that he had received virtual briefings from his national security adviser and his homeland security adviser.

Updated

And here’s the letter from Republican House oversight committee chair James Comer and Jamie Raskin, the Democratic ranking member, calling on Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to resign:

Top Republican and Democratic on House oversight committee join forces to seek Secret Service director's resignation

Things are not looking good for Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director, who was peppered with questions from often-frustrated lawmakers on the House oversight committee today, during its hearing into the agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, said he would collaborate with its Republican chair James Comer on a letter calling for Cheatle’s resignation.

“I don’t want to add to the director’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation of the director, just because I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point,” Raskin said.

“I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country and we need to very quickly move beyond this.”

It is a notable moment of agreement between Raskin and Comer, who has spent much of his time as oversight committee chair pursuing inquiries into more partisan matters, such as impeaching Joe Biden. Raskin, a fierce opponent of Trump, has coordinated the Democratic counterattacks to the investigation campaign.

Updated

Ex-attorney general Eric Holder will lead vetting of VP pick options for Harris – report

The former US attorney general, Eric Holder, who served under president Barack Obama, and his law firm will conduct the vetting process of any potential vice- presidential candidates that could become Kamala Harris’s running mate, according to a report.

Harris is not yet the Democratic party’s nominee for president in the 2024 election and the position will not be filled officially until the convention next month.

But she is the obvious front-runner after Joe Biden endorsed her to replace him at the top of the party’s ticket for the White House this November.

Now Reuters is reporting that Holder will lead the vetting of those she chooses as potential vice-presidential picks if it ends up as her ticket. The agency cited unnamed sources.

Holder returned to his old law firm, Covington & Burling, based in New York, after he left government.

Updated

Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader, did not take the opportunity during a brief hallway press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill just now definitively to endorse Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for president.

He intends to meet with the US vice-president first. That meeting is about to take place, also with the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

Jeffries did say that Biden’s favoring of Harris as his successor has excited Democrats across the party and the country.

The House leader and New York congressman praised Joe Biden, saying “he will go down in history as one of the greatest public servants of all time”.

And he said that Harris was a threat to the Republicans’ election ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance.

“Donald Trump and the extreme ‘Maga’ Republicans are having a meltdown,” he said, referring to the far right domination of the Republican agenda under the Trump campaign slogan “Make America great again.”

Updated

Harris to meet with Democratic leaders of Senate and the House

Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and New York congressman, is about to take questions from reporters on Capitol Hill.

He also just disclosed that he and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, are about to meet with Kamala Harris.

It will be their first in-person meeting since Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside from his 2024 re-election campaign and endorsed Harris, his vice-president, to replace him.

Jeffries said Harris has “excited the community”.

Updated

Here comes the governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, a Democrat, with a wry post on X:

Updated

Nancy Pelosi praised Joe Biden in the statement she just issued endorsing Kamala Harris as his replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket for the 2024 election to face Republican Donald Trump.

She began her statement: “America has been truly blessed by the wisdom and leadership of President Joe Biden. With love and gratitude, I salute President Biden for always believing in the possibilities of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment.”

It continued: “As one of our country’s most consequential presidents, President Biden has been not only on the right side of history, but on the right side of the future.”

Now that he has passed the torch, Pelosi then goes on to offer full-throated praise and her support for Harris becoming the party’s nominee for president.

The two are northern Californians. Pelosi has represented the San Francisco area in Congress for years, while Harris was the San Francisco district attorney before she became the attorney general of California, then a US Senator representing the state and now vice president.

Updated

Pelosi endorses Harris for nomination

House speaker emerita, congresswoman and Democratic Party grandée Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Kamala Harris to be the party’s nominee for president.

Pelosi had been instrumental in persuading Joe Biden to step aside from his re-election campaign, according to extensive reporting across political media last week.

But after the US president announced yesterday that he would complete his term in the White House but wouldn’t be at the top of the ticket in November, and endorsed Harris, Pelosi did not initially follow suit.

However, less than 24 hours later she has issued a statement.

“Today, it is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris for president of the United States. My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political,” Pelosi said.

She added: “Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris’s strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman’s right to choose. Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as rooted in strong values, faith and a commitment to public service. Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute – and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

Updated

A new survey carried out by The Associated Press has found what the news agency deemed “early signs that Kamala Harris is consolidating support” for her party’s nomination for president.

More than 700 pledged delegates have told AP, or announced, that they plan to support the US vice-president at the Democratic convention next month.

That 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 party’s nod to be at the top of the ticket against Donald Trump for the 2024 election.

The Veep’s X account now has “Harris for President” as the banner image, below “Let’s WIN this.”

Updated

The day so far

In her first speech Joe Biden ended his bid for re-election, Kamala Harris said the president’s accomplishments were “unmatched in modern history”, but little else about her just-launched campaign. We may hear more from Harris this afternoon, when she visits her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, to greet staff that will now be working to help her get the Democratic nomination, and beat Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Democrats nationwide are lining up behind the vice-president, including potential presidential contenders Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, and JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois.

Here’s what else has happened today:

  • The Secret Service director acknowledged the agency “failed” to protect Trump at a tense hearing following the attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.

  • Do not expect to hear from Biden today. The White House says he has no public events planned, as he isolates with Covid-19.

  • Joe Manchin, a former Democratic senator who is now an independent, ruled out running for president.

Back at the House oversight committee, Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director, is facing a barrage of tough questions from lawmakers of both parties.

Democratic congressman Ro Khanna pressed Cheatle on whether she should not follow in the steps of Stuart Knight, the agency’s director who resigned after an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981:

Updated

Kamala Harris says she will greet staff at what is now her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware:

The headquarters was situated in Wilmington because that’s Joe Biden’s hometown. Harris is from northern California.

Michigan governor also does not want to be vice-president - report

It’s been less than 24 hours since Joe Biden bowed out of the presidential race, and Kamala Harris has racked up a slate of endorsements for her presidential bid.

Among them is Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor who is seen as a rising Democratic star. Since she has ruled out a presidential run and endorsed Harris, some have pondered if she might want to be a running mate to the vice-president.

Lansing, Michigan’s WLNS was among those wondering, and tracked the governor down. Whitmer told them she had no interest in leaving the state:

Updated

Meanwhile, it does not seem like we will hear from Joe Biden today.

The pool reporter with him in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, just let the press know that the White House has said not to expect him to have any public events.

Biden said he would speak publicly “later this week” in his letter yesterday announcing the end of his re-election bid. The president is currently recovering from Covid-19.

Harris has wrapped up her remarks.

She’s posing for a picture with a group of athletes as the band plays We Are The Champions by Queen.

Updated

Harris then pivoted back to the purpose of the event, which was to honor champion student athletes.

“With that, on behalf of our president and Dr Biden, I am honored to welcome all of you to the White House to celebrate the achievements of these great athletes,” Harris said.

“Every one of them is a national champion, a national champion. In America, tens of millions of people play a sport as a child, and the best of the best grow up to become national champions.”

She continued:

To all of our athletes, I know it was not easy to make it to this moment. Each of you has faced challenges and obstacles, and you have endured. You have fought back and fought through. By doing so, you demonstrated that true greatness requires more than skill, it requires grit and determination.

You all know what it means to commit and to persevere, and you know what it means to count on teammates. During the course of a long season, sports teams become a family. You rely on each other, you develop relationships that will last a lifetime, and you make the people around you better in every way. And when you play you, inspire people across our nation, you remind all of us what can be achieved with hard work and ambition, and of course, none of you made it here alone.

Harris says Biden's accomplishments 'unmatched in modern history'

Kamala Harris is now at the podium, and began by reflecting on Joe Biden’s legacy.

“Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast, and he looks forward to getting back on the road. And I wanted to say a few words about our president. Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said, prompting applause from the crowd.

She continued:

In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office. And I first came to know president Biden through his son Beau. We worked together as attorneys general in our states, and back then, Beau would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is.

The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president, his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his love, deep love of our country. And I am first-hand witness that every day our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people, and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.

Updated

Kamala Harris has appeared at the White House.

She is being introduced by Lynda Tealer, a senior vice-president at the NCAA, who is talking sports.

“I’d like to thank President Biden and Vice-President Harris for organizing this event today. This is an incredible backdrop to celebrate incredible achievement,” Tealer said.

“I want to start by congratulating all of you on your successful season. There are more than 500 student athletes in more than 1000 NCAA institutions across the country. Many of those teams and student athletes started the season with the goal of achieving a national championship. You all have done that. You’re the best in your sport. You’ve crossed that finish line. You will forever be NCAA champions. Congratulations.”

Joe Biden is not in attendance, because he is recovering from Covid-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Updated

Harris to campaign in Delaware this afternoon

The White House just announced that Kamala Harris will head to Wilmington, Delaware, this afternoon for a campaign event.

Wilmington is the headquarters of the Biden-Harris campaign. The administration did not announce what the vice-president would be doing there, but said the event would take place at 3.10pm ET.

We are still waiting for her to make her speech to NCAA teams at the White House.

It is a drizzly, steamy Monday morning at the White House, where Kamala Harris will make her first public appearance since Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the race and endorse her as the party’s Democratic nominee.

Biden had been scheduled to host this event on the White House South Lawn, but remains at his beach house in Delaware recovering from Covid-19. The event is to celebrate the NCAA championship teams, but many people here and those tuning in are watching to see what the party’s likely nominee has to say since being thrust into the position less than 24 hours ago.

Harris to make first speech since launch of presidential campaign following Biden exit

In about 10 minutes, Kamala Harris will make her first public remarks since launching her presidential campaign, after Joe Biden yesterday announced he would end his bid for re-election.

The vice-president is scheduled to speak at an event scheduled for 11.30am ET on the White House south lawn celebrating NCAA teams that won championships in its just-concluded season.

Secret Service director says agency 'failed' in Trump assassination attempt

Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is being grilled right now by lawmakers on the House oversight committee about their handling of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The agency, which is tasked with guarding the president and candidates for office, has faced heavy criticism after a gunman was able to open fire from the roof of a building overlooking Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the former president’s ear, killing a rally goer and wounding others.

In her testimony, Cheatle acknowledged that the agency “failed” on the day of the assassination attempt: “We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13 does not happen again.”

However tensions have risen as members of the committee, particularly Republicans, ask for more details. Cheatle has dodged several questions from committee chair James Comer, saying the investigation into the shooting is in its early stages.

A frustrated Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman and top Trump ally, said: “I don’t think you’ve answered one question from the chairman, the ranking member or me.”

Democrats are in a political honeymoon phase, as Kamala Harris wracks up endorsements and pulls in sky-high fundraising numbers after Joe Biden announced yesterday afternoon that he was pulling out of the presidential race.

But all honeymoons come to an end, and this one will too. To that end, the New York Times just published a story taking a good look at what polling has been done of Harris’s popularity, to ascertain how she may fare among voters. It is not particularly positive:

A majority of voters have long had an unfavorable view of her. She has trailed Mr. Trump in nearly every national and battleground state poll conducted so far this year. In the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll of Pennsylvania, just 42 percent of likely voters said they viewed Ms. Harris favorably — well short of the 51 percent who had a favorable view of Mr. Biden in the state ahead of the 2020 election. It’s even lower than the 46 percent who said the same for Mr. Trump in the recent poll.

With numbers like these, a Harris-Trump matchup doesn’t look much like the 2020 presidential election, when Mr. Biden prevailed as a moderate candidate who was liked by a majority of voters. Instead, it’s more like the Biden-Trump contest of a month ago, before the debate, when Mr. Trump led narrowly and the race seemed poised to be decided by the fickle voters who dislike both candidates — the so-called double haters.

The Times does acknowledge a significant caveat:

At the outset, one enormous caveat is necessary: Ms. Harris became a candidate for president only on Sunday. She will have every opportunity to reintroduce herself to the nation, distinguish herself from Mr. Biden and rally Democratic voters in the weeks ahead. Similarly, her opposition will have every opportunity to criticize her handling of the border or her support for a ban on fracking or for Medicare for All. In the end, her standing could easily change for the better — or worse.

Tony Evers, the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, a must-win swing state for whichever candidate takes over for Joe Biden, has also offered his endorsement of Kamala Harris:

Harris is a tenacious leader who has vigorously defended our democracy, fought to protect the freedoms we hold dear, and worked tirelessly to do the right thing and deliver for us.

I’m excited today to endorse Vice-President Harris as our nominee for president of the United States. She can beat Donald Trump, and I’m going to do everything I can between now and November 5th to help make sure she does.

Updated

Guests waiting to attend the House oversight committee hearing with the director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, told me that they started lining up at 6.30am to get a seat.

The first two people waiting in line, a pair of House staffers, said they were the only people there when they arrived at 6.30am, but the line started getting longer and longer around 8am.

The seats in the room are limited, so only some of the many people waiting will have the chance to witness Cheatle’s testimony.

Gretchen Whitmer, a top potential successor to Biden, endorses Harris

Michigan’s governor was one of the most closely watched of the potential Democratic replacements for Joe Biden.

But in a just-released statement, Gretchen Whitmer, too, has endorsed Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president:

Updated

Illinois governor endorses Harris

JB Pritzker, the Democratic Illinois governor who was among those seen as a possible successor to Joe Biden, has thrown his weight behind Kamala Harris.

“I am proud to endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris for president of the United States,” he said.

Pritzker continued:

Since I launched my first campaign for Governor in 2017, I have made it clear in virtually every political speech and statement the absolute necessity of beating Donald Trump at the ballot box. Donald Trump is a convicted felon, liable for sexual assault, and a congenital liar. He is a man wholly unfit for the office of the presidency both in character and temperament. We must defeat him and his MAGA allies at every level this November.

When I spoke to Vice-President Harris, I told her that President Biden’s selfless decision came as a genuine surprise. I have worked hard during my time as governor of Illinois to try and bring a sober and mature approach to decision-making. It’s important to be thoughtful about what’s next for the Democratic party and for the country, which is why I spent hours yesterday talking to fellow leaders in our party getting and giving input about the road to victory in November. I am also cognizant of the unique role we play here in Illinois as hosts of the Democratic National Convention.

Updated

Secret Service director to testify about Trump rally shooting

I am sitting in Rayburn 2154, where the director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, will soon testify before the House oversight committee.

The hearing comes as more lawmakers have called for Cheatle’s resignation in the wake of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump earlier this month.

There is clearly avid interest to hear Cheatle’s testimony, as the line for guests to sit in on the hearing stretches long through the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Updated

Number-two Senate Democrat endorses Harris

And the endorsements keep rolling in for Kamala Harris.

The latest is Dick Durbin, who, as the Democratic majority whip, is the second highest-ranking lawmaker in the Senate:

High-ranking House Democrat Clark endorses Harris

In yet another sign that Kamala Harris is rapidly assembling the support of top Democrats, Katherine Clark, the party’s second highest-ranking lawmaker in the House of Representatives, has endorsed her:

Clark serves as the minority whip, a position just below minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has not endorsed Harris yet.

Updated

We’re not 24 hours away from Joe Biden’s shock decision to quit the presidential race, but Donald Trump apparently has not woken up to the fact that he will not be facing the president in November.

On Truth Social, Trump continues to bash Biden:

It’s a new day and Joe Biden doesn’t remember quitting the race yesterday! He is demanding his campaign schedule and arranging talks with Presidents Xi of China, and Putin of Russia, concerning the possible start of World War 3. Biden is “sharp, decisive, energetic, angry, and ready to go!”

As with many things Trump says, this post is full of fibs. Biden has not been reported to have sought meetings with the leaders of Russia and China, nor asked for his campaign schedule, nor expressed concern about a third world war. We have no way of knowing if he does or does not remember ending his campaign yesterday, because we haven’t heard from him since that decision.

Updated

Manchin says no intention of running for president

Joe Manchin, the one-time Democratic senator who was a major thorn in the side of Joe Biden during negotiations over his spending priorities earlier in his term, said he has no plans to vie for the party’s presidential nomination.

“I’m not intending to run for any political office, and I made that very clear. I’m retiring, but I’m going to be involved”, said Manchin, who recently registered as an independent, and is set to leave his seat representing West Virginia at the end of the year.

However, Manchin said he hopes that Democrats would hold a primary to determine who their nominee will be: “I think it would have strengthened Kamala. She had to come out on top. She’d have been strengthened. Joe Biden came out of a very contentious primary, as you recall, in 2020 … But when it finally came down to it, he was the only one that said I can bring people together, because I’ve done it for 35 years in the Senate. I know how to work on both sides. He was the centrist moderate, and guess what? He won. So we’ll see”.

The Democrats have not yet said what their procedure will be for replacing Biden, who overwhelmingly won the party’s primaries earlier this year. However, with the Democratic national convention set to begin on 19 August in Chicago, the prospect of holding another primary appears unlikely.

Updated

Kentucky governor endorses Harris

Andy Beshear, the recently re-elected Democratic governor of red state Kentucky, just endorsed Kamala Harris.

Beshear had been among those thought to be potential replacements for Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, but in an interview with MSNBC, he threw his support behind the vice-president, describing her as a unifier in our partisan era:

Partisanship is now everywhere. From the car you drive to the beer you drink, you’re supposed to pick a side, and we just can’t continue that. And that’s why I think that the vice-president can give a compelling message about being better for me, that’s certainly about my faith, and it’s about living my faith and caring about absolutely everyone.

And so, this election, especially with the contrast of such a divisive figure like former President Trump, who spews anger, that we can create a contrast that hopefully not only wins this election, but moves us past all this craziness we’ve been living in.

Updated

Kamala Harris to make first speech since Biden exited race and endorsed her

Kamala Harris is expected to make her first public appearance on Monday since Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election campaign.

With Biden still absent in Delaware and recovering from Covid, the vice-president will greet the NCAA championship teams from the 2023-24 season at the White House.

That is due to take place at 11.30 ET (16.30 BST) on the South Lawn, and Harris is expected to address the media.

Reacting to Biden’s decision to step aside and to nominate her as his chosen replacement, yesterday Harris said “I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

A number of significant figures who might have been expected to challenge Harris, including governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer, have indicated they will not be running. Senator Joe Manchin, who floated the idea he might run, also opted out.

Out of 263 congressional Democrats and 23 Democratic governors, so far over 175 have endorsed Harris, with several states already promising Harris over 500 delegates when the party comes together for its convention in Chicago in mid-August.

In announcing that he would end his re-election campaign on Sunday, Biden said: “I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

There had been some chatter that Joe Manchin, the senator who recently changed his party affiliation to independent, might mount a bid for the Democratic nomination, but Reuters has a quick snap that he has, in a CBS interview, now ruled it out.

More details soon …

Updated

Lauren Gambino in Washington DC

On Sunday, before Joe Biden made his earth-shaking decision known, the president spoke multiple times by phone with Kamala Harris, his vice-president and the person to whom he offered his “full support and endorsement.”

During the sequence of calls, he told her he would not seek re-election and that he intended to pass the torch to Harris, according to a person familiar.

Surrounded by family and staff at the vice-president’s Residence at Number One Observatory Circle in Washington DC, Harris, wearing workout sweats, sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt from her alma mater, Howard University, spent more than 10 hours, calling party leaders, members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights organizations, to discuss this extraordinary turn of events, the person said.

Harris made clear on those calls, the person added, that while she was grateful for the president’s endorsement she intended to work for the party’s nomination. Among Harris’s many calls on Sunday was to her pastor, Amos Brown III, who, along with his wife, prayed over her, the person said.

Harris and her assembled aides paused only briefly for lunch – salad and sandwiches – and dinner – pizza, her’s topped with anchovies.

By the end of the day, Harris’s campaign had raised nearly $50m and leading Democrats, including those who had been named as potential alternatives should Biden bow out, lined up behind the vice-president in a remarkable show of unity after weeks of internal party turmoil.

Lauren Hitt, spokesperson for what was the Joe Biden campaign, and who is now part of the Kamala Harris campaign machinery, has said that “since the president endorsed the vice-president yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6m in grassroots donations to her campaign.”

Key Democratic party figures who have endorsed Kamala Harris – at a glance

Here are some of the key figures in the Democratic party who have already endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris to pick up the party’s presidential nomination in Joe Biden’s stead.

  • Gavin Newsom: frequently tipped as a possible alternative to Biden in recent weeks, the California governor has backed Harris, saying “no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s vice-president.”

  • Pete Buttigieg: Biden’s transport secretary who ran for the Democratic nomination for 2020, said “Kamala Harris is now the right person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as president. I will do all that I can to help her win this election to lead America forward as our next President.”

  • Josh Shapiro: the Pennsylvania governor said “I’ve known Kamala Harris for nearly two decades. She has served the country honorably and is ready to be president”

  • Gretchen Whitmer: another name that had been in the frame, has not given vocal backing to Harris by name, but issued a statement saying “My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”

  • Chris Coons: the Delaware senator is a close Biden ally, and said on CNN “I support vice-president Harris. I am very hopeful that we will come out of our convention next month united.”

  • Cori Bush: the Missouri representative backed Harris to the hilt, saying “Black women are the backbone of the Democratic party and it is past time for us to lead our country forward. Kamala Harris is more than ready to lead this moment.”

  • Kirsten Gillibrand: describing Harris as “my friend”, the New York senator said “I’m proud to endorse her – and I’m eager to join her in this fight.”

  • Amy Klobuchar: stating that Harris has served “with honor and distinction”, the Minnesota senator said “she will be the candidate to bring us together to win in November.”

The Washington Post has tallied that from 263 congressional Democrats and 23 Democratic governors, so far 178 have endorsed Harris.

Senators to have endorsed Harris already include Michael Bennet, Laphonza Butler, Maria Cantwell, Benjamin L Cardin, Bob Casey, Catherine Cortez Masto, Martin Heinrich, John Hickenlooper, Mazie Hirono, Tim Kaine, Mark Kelly, Ben Ray Luján, Edward J Markey, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Jon Ossoff, Alex Padilla, Jacky Rosen, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith, Debbie Stabenow, Mark R Warner, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden.

The vice-president has also secured support from the Democratic governors of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Washington.

Notable absentees from the list of those explicitly supporting her so far include Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, who have all paid tribute to Biden’s decision and political career without yet venturing on who they would like to see take his role. However, several other party grandees have swung behind Harris.

  • Bill and Hillary Clinton: the former president and former secretary of state and defeated candidate in 2016 Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement which said “Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect.”

  • Elizabeth Warren: the veteran senator also voiced her support, saying “When you’re up against a convicted felon, who better than a former prosecutor to take it straight to Donald Trump? She’s ready to do this job, and she’s going to win.”

  • Joe Biden: last and by no means least, the president himself said “I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

The New York Times reports that the Democratic party in New Jersey will have a delegates call today, with Gov Phil Murphy leading it to rally around support for vice-president Kamala Harris’ run for the presidential nomination. The Connecticut Democratic party is also expected to meet this evening to decide whether the state’s 74 delegate votes will switch from Joe Biden to Harris.

Sharif Street, state senator and chair of Pennsylvania’s Democratic party, has said he expects the states delegates to support Kamala Harris in her bid to replace president Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in November.

The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes him saying “I have not heard from one delegate who said that he or she would not be supporting vice-president Harris.”

He suggested that the nomination of Harris could energise the campaign, saying “[Biden’s] age shouldn’t have been a focus but now when you look at the record, the record is incredibly strong. Look, young people were reluctant to vote for someone who was the age of their grandparent, and now they don’t have to do that.”

Updated

Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei for Axios have described the last eight days, starting with the shooting at Donald Trump at his Pennsylvania rally and ending with Joe Biden quitting his re-election bid, as “the wildest and weirdest presidential campaign of our lifetime”.

In the outlet’s morning newsletter for the US audience, Allen writes:

A Biden friend, pointing to the president’s rage over last week’s leaks, barbs and lectures from Democrats at all levels, told us: “It was fury for a while. Then he surrendered to reality. He’s a professional.”

In the end, it was the data, including grim polling from swing states. “No one was able to produce data points that showed him winning,” said a Democratic insider who has been at the center of the party’s frantic conversations since Biden’s debate debacle 25 days ago. “They tried everything. There was no path.”

The UK’s recently elected prime minister, Keir Starmer, has been asked again about the prospects for the US election, and has said that the UK would work with “whoever the American people put into office”.

He told the media in the UK “the US is a reliable and trusted ally has been for many, many years, and you can see that in the Nato council just ten days or so ago.”

He again praised the outgoing president’s leadership role at that summit, saying “Biden’s leadership drove through the council and it was a great success.”

Updated

When the Democratic National Convention meets in Chicago on 17 August, any nominee for president needs to secure the votes of 1,986 delegates. Joe Biden had more than 3,800 delegate pledged to vote for him after the primary season, but those people are now released from that obligation.

Kamala Harris has, according to the latest count by website The Hill, already secured votes from 531 delegates, with the states of Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida and Louisiana all offering support.

Deborah Cole is a Berlin correspondent for the Guardian

Germany’s mainstream political class expressed respect and a degree of relief over president Joe Biden stepping aside in the race given deep-seated fears for Europe about a win by Donald Trump in November.

The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who had only recently expressed strong support for Biden’s bid for a second term, praised Biden’s tough call, posting to social media to say “My friend Joe Biden has achieved a lot: for his country, for Europe, for the world. Thanks to him, transatlantic cooperation is close, Nato is strong and the US is a good and reliable partner for us. His decision not to run again deserves respect.”

The vice-chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck, echoed the remarks, voicing “great esteem” for Biden and his choice to stand down. Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who opposes a second Trump term, also said he had “great respect” for Biden’s decision to end his lifetime of political service in January.

However the CDU’s deputy parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei warned against “euphoria” about a potential run by Kamala Harris. He told public broadcaster RBB she had “failed” to develop her own strong profile in office, meaning the switch of candidate might fail to materialise as an “act of liberation” for the Democrats.

Thomas Jäger, a political scientist at the University of Cologne, criticised the chaotic way Biden made the bombshell announcement, catching his party on the backfoot. “He let them run into an open knife … it almost seemed like an act of revenge” on those he felt had betrayed him, he said.

Jäger told rolling news channel NTV he expected the “voices to grow louder” for Biden to step down immediately as president, with scrutiny of his fitness growing even stronger now that he’s tried to hand the baton to Harris.

He said it was “very very optimistic” to believe that Harris as nominee would mark a “breakthrough” for the Democrats, given her weak profile and short time left to campaign.

Our picture desk has put together this gallery of Joe Biden’s political career from when he first became a senator in 1972 to the present day.

Reuters is reporting that US stock index futures climbed on Monday on the news that president Joe Biden was withdrawing from the election.

The news agency quotes Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics saying “Donald Trump is still the solid favorite to win the presidential election, but betting markets suggest he has a slightly lower probability of beating Harris rather than Biden.

“Harris will have a real chance to sell herself to the American public in the second presidential debate, currently scheduled for 10 September, although the Trump campaign could withdraw, not wanting to go toe-to-toe with the ex-attorney.”

Reuters states that investers are braced for high volatility this week, and notes that shares of Trump-linked stocks such as Trump Media & Technology Group and software firm Phunware were up.

CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein has said he thinks the Democratic party is likely to pick Kamala Harris, as “it’s just hard to imagine there is the stomach for a full-fledged second fight to bypass her”.

He told the news network:

The Democratic party has just gone through a very traumatic episode of nudging aside a president who they respect, who they think has been more successful than many expected, but whom the vast majority of them had come to believe cannot win and did not feel comfortable about re-nominating him for four more years.

After going through all of that, it’s just hard to imagine there is the stomach for a full-fledged second fight to bypass her. Especially with the candidates who might have the best chance – like Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom – already indicating they won’t run against Harris.

My colleague Joan E Greve has this explainer of what happens next in the nomination process now that Joe Biden has stepped aside …

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said Joe Biden’s decision to step aside showed he was willing to put his country’s interests above his own, Reuters reports.

It quotes her saying “I have great respect for the US president’s decision. Biden has also done an incredible amount for transatlantic relations, and not just during his term as president.”

Hugo Lowell reports for the Guardian on what the latest developments mean for the Donald Trump campaign

Donald Trump is scrambling to pivot his campaign against Kamala Harris, with attack ads hitting her current record in office and her past in California, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The Trump campaign is viewing Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee, especially after Biden gave his endorsement, and started preparing opposition research dossiers against her in recent weeks. But as much as Biden’s withdrawal has left Democrats floundering ahead of its nominating convention next month, it has in many ways also flummoxed the Trump campaign.

Trump-aligned political action committees such as MAGA Inc will unleash a wave of attacks against Harris, including a $5m television ad in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, casting her as the puppet master in the Biden administration.

The Trump campaign was always set up to defeat one person – Biden – and Trump’s allies in recent weeks even pulled punches to keep the president viable as a candidate because they were so keen to run against him.

The problem for the Trump campaign is that their best attack lines against Biden, on age and mental acuity, cannot be used and, if anything, they might be reprised by Democrats against Trump given he now will be the oldest candidate.

And the millions of dollars that the Trump-aligned Pacs spent creating attack ads against Biden, including one as recently as last week that was centered around Biden’s slip-up at the presidential debate last month about military deaths, have gone to waste.

Read more from Hugo Lowell here: Trump scrambles to pivot campaign to attack Kamala Harris

Israel will be the strongest US ally in the Middle East regardless of who is elected president in November, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Reuters reports that Netanyahu, speaking to reporters before flying to Washington, said that he would thank president Joe Biden for all he has done for Israel.

The Biden administration’s continued provision of resources for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has caused the president to lose some support on the left of his party.

If you would like something to listen to about the news that Joe Biden is to step aside from his re-election campaign and has instead endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris to challenge Donald Trump in November, then our Politics Weekly America have a podcast on the topic recorded overnight. Jonathan Freedland is joined by politics reporter Nikki McCann Ramírez to discuss what happens next. You can listen to it here.

Joe Biden steps aside from 2024 election: what we know so far

  • Joe Biden has withdrawn from his presidential re-election race and endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of their party’s ticket. The extraordinary decision upends American politics and plunges the Democratic nomination into uncertainty just months before the November election against Donald Trump – a candidate Biden has warned is an existential threat to US democracy. Biden said he planned to speak to the nation in more detail later this week

  • Harris said she would run for president, and she was “honored” by Biden’s decision to endorse her. “I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic party – and unite our nation – to defeat Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

  • It is still unclear whether the party will coalesce around Harris, or whether the Democratic national convention will have a floor fight for the nomination. However, all 50 state Democratic party chairs have already endorsed Harris to be the party’s new presidential nominee. Senators Mark Warner, Tammy Baldwin and others quickly offered their support for Harris in messages on Sunday, as did Bill and Hillary Clinton.

  • Two of the most likely alternatives to Harris, Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom, appear to have ruled themselves out of the running

  • Democratic leaders quickly heaped praise on the president for his lifetime of service. “Joe understands better than anyone the stakes in this election” wrote Barack Obama. Nancy Pelosi, who reportedly was one of several lawmakers nudging Biden to withdraw, spoke of her “love and gratitude” in a message after the announcement

  • Trump, with typical grace, reacted to the news with a vicious attack on Biden and his legacy. “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve – and never was!” the Republican nominee said in a post to his own Truth Social network. The former president rehashed a familiar litany of unsubstantiated grievances in his message. JD Vance, Trump’s newly installed running mate, called Biden “the worst president of my lifetime”

In today’s First Edition newsletter, my colleague Archie Bland sets out what happens now:

While Joe Biden won the Democratic primaries at a canter, his status as the party’s nominee had not yet been officially confirmed. As Joan E Greve sets out in this useful explainer, the delegates who are pledged to vote for Biden at the party’s convention next month will now be released from their obligation.

In theory, that could mean an open “floor fight” in which candidates vie for the delegates’ votes. The Democratic National Committee chair, Jaime Harrison, said yesterday that the process would be “transparent and orderly”. The DNC’s rules committee said last night that it would meet on Wednesday to settle on the process.

Kamala Harris has no automatic right to Biden’s delegates as his vice-president, but his endorsement plus the explicit support of many prominent figures in the party mean there is a very good chance she will run unopposed, or be a strong favourite even if someone stands against her.

In her favour is wariness among the Democratic establishment of a chaotic display to the public in an open battle at the convention – alongside worries that Black and female voters could turn away from the party if Harris were to be denied the nomination that some feel she has already earned.

Tat theory will only be tested if a serious rival emerges, which looks increasingly unlikely. One potential candidate, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, quickly said yesterday that she would not stand; another governor, Gavin Newsom of California, has repeatedly said that he would not stand against Harris. Both endorsed her last night, along with more than 100 other elected Democrats.

Read more here: Monday briefing – Joe Biden passes the torch – and transforms the race for the presidency

The Kremlin has responded to Biden stepping aside, saying “a lot can change” in the next four months.

“The elections are still four months away, and that is a long period of time in which a lot can change,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the SHOT news outlet.

“We need to be patient and carefully monitor what happens. The priority for us is the special military operation,” Peskov said, using the euphemism for the Ukraine war that President Vladimir Putin prefers.

Putin had said several times said that he felt Biden was preferable as the future US president to Trump for Russia, even after Biden cast the Kremlin chief as a “crazy SOB”.

Russian state television led news bulletins with the news of Biden leaving the election race and Biden’s support for Harris, though it said it was unclear if Harris would earn the Democratic nomination.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on the Telegram messaging app that he wished Biden good health and added that the goals of the special military operation would be achieved.

Updated

If Kamala Harris becomes the nominee, then, as said in a 2020 Harris campaign ad shared widely after Biden resigned, Trump will be up against “The Anti-Trump”.

Here is a reminder of some of the ways they differ: A prosecutor versus a felon. The first Black person, the first person of South Asian descent, and the first female Vice President in US history, versus a white man. The oldest Presidential candidate in US history versus someone almost 20 years younger than him. The US property mogul who inherited a fortune from his father versus the daughter of a biologist and a university Professor in economics, both of whom are immigrants.

On that note, this is Helen Sullivan handing over to my colleague Martin Belam in London.

Updated

Here is a roundup of this morning’s front pages:

JD Vance to make first solo campaign appearance on Mondau

Republican JD Vance, an Ohio Senator, will make his first solo appearances on the campaign trail Monday, AP reports.

Vance is scheduled to hold a rally in his hometown of Middletown on Monday afternoon, followed by a second rally Monday evening in Radford, Virginia, fresh off his rally debut with Donald Trump over the weekend.

Vance was expected to eventually face Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate. But with Biden dropping out and the Democratic ticket unsettled, the senator is following Trump’s lead and focusing on attacking Biden and Harris jointly.

“President Trump and I are ready to save America, whoever’s at the top of the Democrat ticket,” Vance said Sunday in a post on X. “Bring it on.”

Updated

Why hasn't Obama endorsed Harris?

Obama, who has notably not yet endorsed Harris had two main reasons for holding back, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed people close to the former US president.

The first is that Obama “has positioned himself as an impartial elder statesman above intraparty machinations” and did not want to make “a political mistake — fueling criticism that Ms. Harris’s nomination, should it come, was a coronation rather than the best possible consensus under rushed circumstances”.

He also “wanted Sunday to be about Biden”, the New York Times reports, citing a former White House official who speaks regularly with Obama.

Updated

Here is what we know about what Harris’s schedule holds for this week:

  • She will host an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday with sports teams from across the country that won NCAA championships this year.

  • She is planning to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington later this week.

  • Harris also has a previously scheduled campaign swing to Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Asian markets fell Monday as Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the US presidential race fuelled fresh uncertainty, while traders appeared to be unmoved by China’s decision to cut interest rates in a bid to boost the country’s economy.

The news has left traders wondering who will go head to head with Trump, whose expected victory had lifted equities and the dollar on expectations for tax cuts and deregulation.

Analysts said markets would likely be volatile in the near term.

“While market instinct will be to say that the news adds a degree of uncertainty to the outcome of the 5 November election that wasn’t present last week, it will be many weeks... before anyone can reasonably determine if the race for the White House is significantly narrower than looked to be case previously,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill.

“In short, there’ll be more noise than signal on US politics for markets to contend with in the coming few weeks at least.”

Stocks in Asia fell Monday following losses on Wall Street and Europe, where trade was dominated by the global computer systems crash.

Kamala HQ, the newly launched Twitter account that describes itself as “the official rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign” has branded itself with three key things that young people already identify with Harris.

1. Her telling a story in 2023, about her mother saying to her as a child: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”, with Harris adding: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” It became an instant meme at the time. “The arc of the coconut tree is long, but it bends towards justice,” one person tweeted following Biden’s announcement.

2. The album brat, by Charli XCX. The singer tweeted on Sunday saying “kamala IS brat”. Brat is both the album of the summer and the theme of the summer, according to this newspaper.

3. Venn diagrams, which Harris has famously said she loves.

Here is a video that explains all three things (in its own unique and very online way):

Updated

The Harris for President campaign has sent out a list of all of the endorsements Harris has garnered from elected officials in the hours since Biden announced his withdrawal from the race.

There are “hundreds” according to the statement, which includes the words of more than 100 of them.

Here is a selection from the most recognisable names (who are not contenders for the nomination or running mate):

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: “My friend @KamalaHarris is a champion for freedom and a proven leader who is ready to defeat Donald Trump and defend our democracy. I’m proud to endorse her — and I’m eager to join her in this fight. Donate to her campaign now”.

Senator Elizabeth Warren: “We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November”.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let’s get to work”.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar: “Thrilled to support @KamalaHarris as our Democratic nominee and remain committed to working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump in November”

Congressman Adam Schiff: “Now it’s time for all of us to unite behind Vice President Harris. I am excited to endorse her campaign for President – she has the judgment, experience, leadership, and tenacity to take on and defeat Donald Trump. I worked with her when she was our Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and I can’t wait to work with her as President. There is no better matchup than this superb former prosecutor against this convicted criminal, and she’ll prosecute the case against Trump every single day. The stakes are high, and we must focus all of our energy on electing Kamala Harris and defeating Donald Trump.”

Updated

DNC rules committee to meet Wednesday - reports

CNN and the Wall Street Journal report that the DNC rules committee’s co-chairs have announced the committee will meet on Wednesday afternoon.

The committee determines the rules for the party’s nomination.

“It is now the Committee’s responsibility to implement a framework to select a new nominee, which will be open, transparent, fair, and orderly,” said co-chairs Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and longtime Democratic operative Leah Daughtry.

“The process presented for consideration will be comprehensive, it will be fair, and it will be expeditious.”

Where Harris stands on abortion

Democrats will be hoping that Harris, if she is the nominee, will have gender in her favour among Democrat voters, particularly since Roe v Wade was overturned by a Supreme Court with three judges appointed by Trump, who boasted this year, ‘We broke Roe v Wade’.

Beginning in late 2023, Harris has embarked on a national tour to highlight the threats to reproductive rights posed by a second Trump administration – an issue that Biden has been criticized for shying away from. Biden has defended Roe v Wade, but has said he is “not big on abortion”.

“As a woman on the ticket and the first woman VP and a woman of color, and then secondly, as an AG, she is strongest when her profile is fighting and prosecuting the case. People really like her in that mode,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic party strategist and a lead pollster on the 2020 Biden campaign told the Guardian in March. “She’s so comfortable saying the word ‘abortion’. She’s so comfortable leaning in and speaking to the repercussions.”

Trump has run against and defeated a woman before – Hillary Clinton. After Roe v Wade, more people may be motivated by the possibility of a clearly pro-abortion rights woman president. It will likely also, however, motivate people who anti-abortion and otherwise sexist to vote for Trump.

Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant late on Sunday thanked Biden for his “unwavering support” for Israel.

“Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable. We are grateful for your leadership and friendship”, he said on X.

Since the Hamas attack against Israel 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza and wounded more than 88,000, according to local health officials. Malnutrition and disease have become widespread as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cram into squalid tent camps.

All state Democratic party chairs endorse Harris

All 50 state Democratic party chairs have endorsed Harris to be the party’s new presidential nominee to run against Republican nominee and former president, Donald Trump, Reuters reports.

The chairs held a conference call after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside as the party’s candidate.

“Following President Biden’s announcement, our members immediately assembled to unite behind the candidate who has a track record of winning tough elections, and who is a proven leader on the issues that matter to Americans: reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, climate protection, justice reform, and rebuilding the economy,” said Ken Martin, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, in a statement.

Updated

What the polling says

In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Harris and Trump were tied with 44% support each in a July 15-16 Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. Trump led Biden 43% to 41% in that same poll, though the 2 percentage point difference was not meaningful considering the poll’s 3-point margin of error.

An average across recent polling reported shows Harris trailing Trump by 2 points, with 46% to 48%, the New York Times reports, though Biden trailed Trump by three points, 44% to 47%.

Polling conducted in Swing states after the Trump assassination attempt and before Biden stepped down dropped out had Harris hypothetically behind Trump one point in Pennsylvania, and winning by five points in Virginia. She polled better than Biden among women, younger voters and Black voters, the New York Times reports.

Her lead among black voters when compared to Trump is 64 points, according to an NBC news poll. Trump leads among white voters by 16 points, compared to a 14 point lead against Biden among white voters.

Updated

CNN anchor Abby Phillip reports that 40,000 people joined a call organised by Win With Black Women, which describes itself as a “collective of intergenerational, intersectional Black women leaders throughout the nation”:

Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and longtime congressional aide, says Harris will be able to mount “a more energetic campaign with excitement from younger voters and people of colour”.

A former prosecutor and California attorney general as well as a former US senator, Harris would be able to use “her years of litigation experience to effectively prosecute Trump in the court of public opinion,” Mollineau told Reuters.

Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist, told Reuters it would be a mistake for the Trump campaign to assume Harris could serve as a simple stand-in for Biden, because of her potential appeal to different parts of the electorate.

Biden dropped out after looking at internal polling – report

A source has told Reuters that top aides showed Biden internal polling with the jarring news on Saturday night that he was not just trailing in all six critical swing states that could decide the election but also collapsing in places like Virginia and Minnesota where Democrats had not planned on needing to spend massive resources.

Biden changed his mind after “poring over” the data, Reuters reports.

Updated

MAGA Inc switches Biden TV ads with one attacking Harris on migration, inflation

Make America Great Again Inc, a super PAC backing Trump, said on Sunday it was pulling anti-Biden television ads that had been set to run in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania and replacing them with an ad attacking Harris, Reuters reports.

The 30-second ad accuses Harris of hiding Biden’s infirmity from the public, and it seeks to pin the administration’s record solely on her. “Kamala knew Joe couldn’t do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done: a border invasion, runaway inflation, the American Dream dead,” the narrator says.

Trump, known for using insulting and sometimes offensive language to attack his opponents, gave supporters at a rally in Michigan on Saturday a taste of the insults he is likely to fling at Harris in the coming days.

“I call her laughing Kamala. You ever watch a laugh? She’s crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She’s crazy. She’s nuts,” he said.

Updated

Trump campaign pivots to Harris, will focus on immigration and the economy

Trump will try to show swing voters that his likely new rival has her fingerprints all over two issues he is counting on for victory in November: immigration and the cost of living, Reuters reports.

Sources within the Trump campaign told Reuters it will cast Harris, the likely Democratic candidate after President Joe Biden quit the race on Sunday, as the “co-pilot” of administration polices it says are behind both sources of voter discontent.

Sources told Reuters that Trump’s campaign had for weeks been preparing for Harris should Biden drop out and she win her party’s nomination.

“Harris will be easier to beat than Joe Biden would have been,” Trump told CNN shortly after Biden’s announcement on Sunday. Trump’s campaign has signaled it will tie her as tightly as possible to Biden’s immigration policy, which Republicans say is to blame for a sharp increase in the numbers of people crossing the southern border with Mexico illegally.

The second line of attack will revolve around the economy. Public opinion polls consistently show Americans are unhappy with high food and fuel costs as well as interest rates that have made buying a home less affordable.

“She’s the co-pilot of the Biden vision,” said one Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity during last week’s Republican National Convention, where a unified party anointed Trump as its nominee in the White House race.

Harris and Schumer spoke Sunday afternoon - report

Key Democrats believe Harris would benefit from what some call a “mini-primary”, the Associated Press is reporting, saying, “They argue a fast primary campaign would showcase to the American people, party donors and skeptics that Harris is best for the job, and give would-be contenders a chance to compete — or at least debut as potential running mates.”

Harris was making calls late in the day to congressional lawmakers and gain support, including from Representative Annie Kuster of New Hampshire – the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a moderate caucus on Capitol Hill – who endorsed Harris Sunday.

Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke Sunday afternoon, the AP reports, citing a person granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.

What is Project 2025?

In Harris’s statement announcing that she would be running for the nomination, she referenced Project 2025.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Harris said.

If you are not across Project 2025, it is a roadmap for a potential second Trump presidency that details – across more than 900 pages – how Trump and his allies could dismantle and disrupt the US government. It suggests ridding the federal ranks of many appointed roles and stacking agencies instead with more political appointees aligned with and more beholden to Trump’s policy prescriptions.

Led by the rightwing Heritage Foundation, the project showcases a federal government that cracks down intensely on immigration, vanquishes LGBTQ+ and abortion rights, diminishes environmental protections, overhauls financial policy and takes aggressive action against China.

Here is an explainer by my colleague Rachel Leingang:

Updated

ActBlue funding passes $60 million – reports

Democrat strategists and journalists are reporting that the money raised by Democrat donors on liberal political action committee ActBlue in the hours since Biden announced that he was dropping out of the race and named Kamala Harris as his pick for nominee has now passed $60 million. The Guardian has not verified this independently.

ActBlue has not announced a new figure yet, since saying that $46.7m had been raised since 9pm ET – a figure it said was the highest of the 2024 campaign so far.

Joe Biden’s official campaign website, joebiden.com now redirects to an ActBlue donations page.

The New York Times reports that donations have passed $50 million. The only other day where $50m was raised in a single day was after Ruth Bader-Ginsberg died, Democrat pollster and strategist Matt McDermott said on X earlier – the Guardian has not confirmed this independently.

Updated

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live US politics coverage following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will be withdrawing from the race – but seeing out his term as president – and his endorsement of his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Harris said in a statement announcing that she would be running.

Harris reportedly sent a fundraising email that began, “I am running to be President of the United States”.

Democrat donations spiked sharply following Biden’s announcement. The liberal political action committee ActBlue announced that Democrats had donated $46.7m in the seven hours since Biden announced that he would withdraw to 9pm ET, saying it was the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle.

Reports emerged later that the total had ticked over to $50m – making it one of the two biggest fundraising days in the history of the PAC, with the other being after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsbgerg died.

Meanwhile senior Democrats, including some of those who have been named as possible contenders for the presidential or vice-presidential nomination, endorsed Kamala Harris for the nomination on Sunday within hours of Biden’s announcement.

Shortly after Biden stepped aside he firmly endorsed Harris, who would make history as the nation’s first Black and South Asian woman to become a major party’s presidential nominee. Other endorsements flowed from Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the first major female presidential nominee, and prominent US senators, a wide swath of House representatives and members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus.

Among top potential contenders, the governors Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Roy Cooper of North Carolina all endorsed Harris on Sunday. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also endorsed Harris, after holding out against calling for Biden to resign.

Donald Trump heaped scorn on Biden, saying he “was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve”. Top Republicans in Congress, including speaker Mike Johnson and other senior House lawmakers, called on Biden to resign immediately. Notably, Mitch McConnell, the GOP’s Senate minority leader, did not.

More to come.

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