The two top Democrats on Capitol Hill endorsed Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) endorsed Harris at a press conference at the Capitol, The Hill reports.
“We are brimming with excitement, enthusiasm, unity,” Schumer said.
Jeffries agreed, adding that Harris “is ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.”
While several Democrats, including President Joe Biden, endorsed Harris on Sunday, Schumer explained that they held back because Harris wanted to secure the nomination on her own.
“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.
The top congressional Democrats endorsement of Harris follows reports that she has received support from a majority of pledged delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination for president at next month’s convention in Chicago.
