(WASHINGTON) — Former President Barack Obama officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday to be the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee.
Obama was one of the only high-profile Democrats who had yet to endorse Harris, who quickly secured enough delegate support to clinch the nomination so long as the delegates do not change their mind before the Democratic National Convention’s virtual roll next month.
When President Joe Biden announced Sunday he was exiting the 2024 race, he quickly endorsed Harris to take his place.
In more extensive remarks on his decision delivered from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, Biden said he believed “the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation” and now was the time for “fresh” and “younger” voices.
“I made my choice. I’ve made my views known. I’d like to thank our great vice president, Kamala Harris,” Biden said. “She’s experienced, she’s tough, she’s capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me, and a leader for our country. Now, the choice is up to you, the American people.”
After Biden backed Harris, many Democrats across the country quickly fell in line behind her and she faces no major opposition yet for the party’s nomination. Focus has already shifted to who she may select to be her vice presidential running mate in challenging former President Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Several days before Obama’s endorsement, Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, publicly endorsed Harris. Jeffries and Schumer both spoke about Harris earning the nomination “from the grassroots up and not the top down.”
Obama, too, appeared to want to let the “process” play out before announcing his support. In his initial response to Biden’s decision to drop out, Obama said the party would be “navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead.”
“But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” Obama said at the time.
Though a source told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang that Harris had spoken to Obama, along with other leaders, in the 24 hours after Biden stepped down from the race.
(WASHINGTON) — Arlington National Cemetery has confirmed to ABC News that during former President Donald Trump’s visit on Monday, an “incident” related to photos being taken at the site occurred, leading to a report being filed.
When contacted by ABC News on Tuesday night, a representative for the Arlington National Cemetery released a statement that confirmed an “incident” but didn’t provide specifics.
“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign. Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed,” the statement read.
Trump campaign’s communications director, Steven Cheung, posted on X what he said was proof of the team’s approval to have an official photographer and videographer outside the main press pool.
“Only former President Trump may have an official photographer and/or videographer outside of the main media pool,” a screengrab of what appears to be an access guideline posted by Cheung reads. However, it should be noted that campaign officials — not professionals — were also taking photos and videos of the day’s events.
Cheung also claimed on Tuesday night after the news broke that, “There was no physical altercation as described [by some reports], and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made” in a statement to ABC News.
Trump campaign staffers posted multiple pictures and videos of Trump visiting Arlington Cemetery, including from what appears to be Section 60, using the moment to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris’ absence. Trump was at the cemetery on the third anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate during the withdrawal from Afghanistan to pay tribute to the 13 U.S. Service members killed in the incident.
In one video posted by Trump campaign’s senior adviser Chris LaCivita, Trump can be seen laying flowers on the grave of Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, who died in the attack. LaCivita wrote in the post that Trump was speaking on the phone with Knauss’ family, who couldn’t make it to the ceremony on Monday.
Multiple other Trump campaign staffers posted photos from there, and some of the images were then shared by the Trump campaign on their official X account.
Prior to the event, the cemetery had been explicit in its rule that no Trump activity could be filmed during his visit to Section 60.
Monday’s press pool note read: “The family visit to Section 60 following the wreath laying is private and at their explicit request, there will be NO coverage at that location. Your POOL will wait inside the press van during this visit. POOL will then be taken to an unknown location for an OTR stop to round out the morning.”
In a statement to ABC News, LaCivita, a combat-wounded Marine, stressed that Trump “was there on the invitation of the Abbey Gate Gold Star Families to honor their loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” calling the individual who attempted to block Trump campaign officials “despicable.”
(WASHINGTON) — When Congress returns to Washington on Monday after summer recess, lawmakers will be staring down a looming government shutdown on Sept. 30 when funding is set to run out.
But before they get down to brass tacks, Republicans and Democrats will face off in an election-year partisan battle over voter eligibility.
During a private phone call with the House Republican Conference on Wednesday, sources told ABC News that House Speaker Mike Johnson outlined his plan to avert a government shutdown — rallying House Republicans around a short-term government funding bill that extends funding into March 2025 but includes a major policy proposal Democrats warn will kill the money bill.
Sources said Johnson told members that he wants to hold a vote on his short-term funding plan early next week — although next week’s floor schedule has not been officially announced.
House leaders regularly attach priority items to must-pass stopgap funding bills as a means of pushing through measures their members demand.
This will be no different, as Johnson told members. According to sources, he’ll attempt to attach the SAVE Act — a bill requiring individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote — to the funding bill.
Johnson’s opening salvo to address the looming funding deadline likely won’t be a winning solution. But with a narrow majority and conservatives clamoring for the SAVE Act, he will attempt to lay down a legislative marker in the House — and give GOP members legislation to point to on the campaign trail.
Senate Democrats have already said the SAVE Act is a non-starter for them, but Johnson’s move sets up a showdown between the chambers with just months remaining until Election Day.
What is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act?
The SAVE Act, which has the backing of former President Donald Trump and the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is a bill that seeks to expand proof of citizenship requirements to vote in federal elections. It bans states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
The House passed the SAVE Act on July 10 by a bipartisan vote of 221-198, with five election-year vulnerable Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with all Republicans. It’s unclear whether that same support would carry over into Johnson’s planed showdown vote over funding the government.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls the bill “extreme and dangerous” and warns it would purge millions of legal voters from state rolls and make it much more difficult for Americans to reregister to vote.
“Let’s call it what it is — this is a direct attack on hard-working families, including Latino communities,” the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement following House passage of the bill.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Republicans to drop the SAVE Act from their funding bill and to instead advance a clean short-term version, called a continuing resolution, or CR.
“We want to see a clean CR,” Jean-Pierre told ABC’s Karen Travers. “That’s what we want to see.”
The administration “strongly opposes” the SAVE Act, Jean-Pierre said. “It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. It’s already illegal.”
Senate Democrats almost sure to oppose
Johnson’s proposal is likely to set off a fierce fight between the House and the Senate, as Senate Democrats will almost certainly reject the stopgap bill because of the inclusion of the SAVE Act.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray called it a “poison pill” and a “nonstarter.”
“We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. Senate Democrats will continue to work in a bipartisan way to ensure we can keep the government funded and deliver responsible, bipartisan spending bills that can actually be signed into law before the end of the year,” Murray said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet outlined a plan for dealing with government funding, but he warned House colleagues against the inclusion of any partisan matters in a must-pass funding bill.
“As we have said each time we’ve had CR, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way and that is what has happened every time,” Schumer said in a statement to ABC News.
It’s also not yet clear whether the March 2025 extension date Johnson is proposing will sit well with Democrats, who may seek a much shorter stopgap that allows them to continue to debate and potentially lock in annual appropriations during the lame-duck session at the end of this year.
If it feels to you like we just did this, you’re not wrong.
Government funding expires annually at the end of the federal government’s fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Passing annual appropriations for 2024 was especially calamitous. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his job over it. Johnson was installed because of it, but not without also facing threats to his position. Johnson ultimately implemented a never-before-seen two deadline system to help push the ball over the line.
Congress did not complete its work codifying current spending levels until mid-March, blowing months past the annual deadline. By the time all the bills were passed, they only funded the government for about six months.
Once again, the deadline is fast-approaching at the end of the month.
As of Wednesday, the House had passed five of the 12 individual government funding bills, including for Defense, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and State-Foreign Operations.
House GOP leaders hoped they would be able to clear all 12 bills, but the reality is that there is not enough time to do so.
Right after taking the gavel in October 2023, Johnson said in a letter obtained by ABC News to colleagues that he would not break for August recess until all 12 appropriations bills had passed the House.
“DO NOT break for district work period unless all 12 appropriations bills have passed the House,” Johnson wrote in his first letter as speaker.
That promise was not kept.
Meanwhile, to date, the Senate has not passed a single appropriations bill.
(WASHINGTON) — EMILY’s List, an abortion-rights political organization, is set to launch a new 30-second TV and digital ad that both publicly supports Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly launched presidential campaign and attacks former President Donald Trump over the fall of Roe v. Wade and abortion rights.
The ad, titled “Kamala Harris for President: The Time Is Now,” is the first effort by the organization to publicly support Harris’ campaign.
The ad, first obtained by ABC News, was paid for by the EMILYs List super PAC, Women Vote. The super PAC, which launched in March, aimed to strategically combat what EMILY’s List called “sexist and racist attacks” against women.
Women Vote will be the official super PAC for Harris’ bid for the White House, aiming to raise $20 million in the next 18 weeks, sources told ABC News.
The ad touches on Roe v. Wade as abortion access remains a critical issue for voters in an election year.
In the ad, a narrator highlights Harris as a candidate and includes clips of Trump taking credit for the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade.
“Kamala Harris won’t back down,” the narrator says, later adding “With so much at stake, we don’t have time to waste. Resilient, relentless, fighter. The time is now.”
On Sunday, EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler endorsed Harris for president, saying in a statement that “she is the most qualified and most prepared candidate to meet this unprecedented moment and lead the country.”
“In a moment when Republicans have launched a full-scale attack on our reproductive rights, an issue that will be the driving force for Democratic wins, Vice President Harris is our most powerful advocate and messenger on this issue,” Mackler added.
EMILY’s List has supported Harris throughout her career, from her time as San Francisco’s district attorney to when she made history as the first woman to serve as California’s attorney general and again when she made history as the second Black woman in the Senate.
The group’s former president, Sen. Laphonza Butler, is expected to speak to EMILY’s List donors on Monday afternoon, a source told ABC News. Butler is the junior senator from California — a role Harris held just four years ago.