Republicans call on Biden to resign as president, Democrats back Harris: As it happened

Kamala Harris' campaign said it has raised $81 million in the first 24 hours since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her bid for president.

In a statement, the campaign said the figure “reflects money raised across the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees.”

The massive donation haul represents the “largest 24-hour fundraising sum by either party in the 2024 presidential campaign,” according to the Associated Press.

READ MORE: Pelosi key to Biden exit – NBC

Joe Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms have “resolved almost completely,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor has said in an update released by the White House.

Biden has been recuperating at his home in Delaware after testing positive for Covid-19 last Wednesday. O’Connor said Biden had taken his tenth dose of Paxlovid on Monday and “continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”

It was from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that Biden announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race on Sunday.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

“My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political,” Pelosi said in a statement on Monday. The Democratic heavyweight called Harris “brilliantly astute” and said she had “full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

According to CNN, Harris and Pelosi spoke on Sunday after Joe Biden quit the race. NBC News reported earlier on Monday that Pelosi had been instrumental in nudging Biden to stand aside for another candidate.

READ MORE: ‘We failed’ – US Secret Service head tells Trump shooting hearing

The US Secret Service has “made adjustments” to Vice President Kamala Harris’ security detail since Joe Biden dropped out of the election race on Sunday, agency director Kimberly Cheatle has told a congressional hearing.

Cheatle has been testifying before the House Oversight Committee about the “failure” of her agency to prevent the assassination attempt against Donald Trump on July 13.

“Yesterday with the announcement of the president no longer running, we made adjustments to the Vice President’s detail,” she said.

In her opening remarks, Cheatle called the assassination attempt on Trump “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.” 

Former Vice President Mike Pence has praised Joe Biden for “putting the interests of our nation ahead of his own” and making the “right decision” to end his bid for re-election.

Posting on X, Pence wrote that after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump earlier this month, it was time for both Republicans and Democrats to “project calm and send a message of strength and resolve to America’s friends and enemies alike”

Kamala Harris has made her first public remarks since Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her candidacy for president.

At a White House event greeting National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams, Harris called Biden’s accomplishments “unmatched in modern history” and said her intention was to “earn and win” the Democratic nomination in August.

As it was an official White House event, Harris did not address her own bid for the Oval Office.

READ MORE: Biden privately doubts if Harris can beat Trump – Axios

A Kamala Harris presidency could signal a “change in tone” regarding Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza, NBC reported, citing Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Arab American voters critical of Joe Biden’s approach don’t see Harris as being “responsible” for his policies, Miller said, adding that he expected a “more balanced rhetorical posture” from her.

In March, NBC reported that White House National Security Council officials had to “tone down” parts of Harris’ speech about the need for a six-week ceasefire. She is expected to meet with Netanyahu during his visit to the US this week, during which he will address Congress and meet President Biden at the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris has received endorsements from the governors of Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, previously considered a potential contender for the Democratic nomination herself, said she was “fired up to endorse Kamala Harris.”

Whitmer released her statement in coordination with endorsements for Harris from Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Tony Evers of Wisconsin.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ team has seized upon a video of former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley predicting earlier this year that if Donald Trump becomes the GOP nominee, Harris would win the presidency.
 
“If Donald Trump is the [GOP] nominee, mark my words, we will see a President Kamala Harris,” Haley told Fox News in February, when she was running against Trump in the Republican primaries.
 
Haley has since endorsed Trump, but warned in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that her party needed to prepare for Biden’s withdrawal, because the Democrats would bring somebody “younger” and “vibrant” into the race.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has endorsed Kamala Harris for president. Speaking on Morning Joe, Adams said Harris is “the voice that the party needs right now.” 
 
The Democrat had declined to immediately back Harris after Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday, telling CNN that whichever other Democrats wanted to run, “they should have the right to do so.” On Monday, however, Adams backed the vice president, citing her history as a California prosecutor and her ability to bring back black and Latino voters.
 
“We’re hemorrhaging African Americans. We’re hemorrhaging Hispanic voters. We’re hemorrhaging those working-class people who don’t realize the Democratic Party has a good product,” he said.