Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries endorse Harris for president

WASHINGTON — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrats in Congress, endorsed Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday.

Schumer and Jeffries, both of New York, made the announcement at a press conference, where both emphasized the excitement throughout their Democratic conferences for Harris’ candidacy. “We are brimming with excitement, enthusiasm, unity,” Schumer said to reporters.

Jeffries echoed that sentiment, adding that Harris “is ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.”

While many elected Democrats, including President Joe Biden, quickly announced their support for Harris, the Senate Majority leader and House Minority leader had said they wanted to meet with her in person first. That meeting has not yet happened, sources close to the leaders told NBC News. But both Jefferies and Schumer have spoken to Harris by phone.

“When I spoke with her Sunday, she said she wanted the opportunity to win the nomination on her own and to do so from the grassroots up, not top-down. We deeply respected that, Hakeem and I did,” Schumer said.

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

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The endorsements from Schumer and Jeffries come a day after Harris clinched support from the majority of pledged delegates for the Democratic convention. That vote to make Harris the party’s official nominee for president will happen in early August ahead of the party’s convention.

While waiting to speak with her before making a formal endorsement, Schumer, who served with Harris in the Senate, and Jeffries had both said positive things about Harris and her campaign since Biden announced Sunday he would not run for re-election. In a statement Monday, the leaders said Harris was “off to a great start” and they looked forward “to meeting in person with Vice President Harris shortly as we collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed Harris on Monday, joining a broad range of congressional Democrats — including progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and popular governors who have been mentioned as potential rivals to Harris for a presidential run — in backing the vice president. Though no longer in leadership, Pelosi played a key role in getting Biden to exit the 2024 campaign, paving the way for Harris.

Schumer and Jeffries also had serious, private conversations with Biden in the weeks after a disastrous debate that raised unshakeable concerns about his ability to run for re-election.

Schumer met with Biden in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on July 13 and told the president he was there “out of love and affection” but laid out the case for him to exit the race in stark terms, a source familiar with their conversation told NBC News. The president needed to consider three important points: his legacy, the future of the country and the impact on Congress, Schumer said, according to this source. He also urged Biden to think about the Supreme Court.

Schumer finished the meeting by saying, “I do not expect you to walk out of this room making a decision, but I hope you will think about what I said,” the source said.

Biden responded: “I need another week,” and then the two leaders hugged.

Schumer didn’t say much publicly in the week that followed, instead speaking privately with Democratic members, White House staff, Jeffries, Pelosi and former President Barack Obama.

Schumer firmly believed that calling out the president publicly would be “counterproductive” and could embarrass the president. He also believed the best way for Democrats to approach the situation was with some humanity and not merely cold political calculus. Regardless of Biden’s decision, Democrats needed him to be able to campaign for himself or for another Democratic nominee.

As he’d suggested to Schumer, a week later, Biden announced his decision to drop out of the race and endorsed Harris.