What you need to know about the Sept. 30 education relief deadline
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(WASHINGTON) — The White House is touting its American Rescue Plan (ARP) COVID emergency funding program as a win for public education with nearly 90% of its funds exhausted by Monday’s deadline, according to senior Department of Education officials.
The final $122 billion phase of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER), a part of the ARP law signed by President Joe Biden in March 2021, was distributed to state and local education agencies to reopen schools and promote physical health, safety and mental health and well-being.
In total, that funding and two prior installments of ESSER during the 2020 pandemic is roughly $190 billion. It has been obligated or used on school recovery projects that are wrapped up. Senior Department of Education officials said about 12% of ARP projects that are still underway are expected to be finished by the end of a January, 2025, liquidation extension window.
The ESSER package that was doled out to states as discretionary funding sparked controversy over how the funds were being spent. Many conservatives speculated whether it was being utilized at all, blaming the federal Education Department for a lack of academic recovery and low test scores on national assessments coming out of the pandemic.
Education finance expert Jess Gartner, who has been tracking school spending projects, told ABC News that school districts had planned for the window closing on ESSER funding.
“The reality is, the vast majority of school districts turned the page on Fiscal Year 25 on July 1: that means budgets for the year are done and dusted. They were approved in May or June,” Gartner said, adding, “It’s not like September 30 is going to catch CFOs by surprise. You know, they’ve been planning for this deadline for three, four years, and they have a budget for the whole year that’s already in motion and fully approved.”
What is ESSER?
ESSER was granted by the Department of Education’s Education Stabilization Fund. It was meant to meet the challenges of the pandemic and academic recovery, according to the COVID relief data website.
In ESSER I, Congress allotted about $13 billion through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act when the pandemic first closed schools for in-person learning in March 2020.
In ESSER II, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act provided an additional $54 billion in December 2020.
The final installment of nearly $122 billion, or ESSER III, came under the American Rescue Plan Act — the fund enabled states to reopen schools and for students to recover from the pandemic. ARP provided additional FY 2021 funding for the Department of Education to assist states with addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools.
ESSER III brought the total to about $190 billion in emergency funding for state and local education departments.
How is ESSER III being used?
That $122 billion was tacked onto the roughly $68 billion in money in ESSER I and ESSER II the previous year. As discretionary funding, states could distribute the allotment however they chose. In the last 3 1/2 years, school districts have used it on infrastructure projects, school enrichment and summer programs, and staff positions where needed.
Baltimore City Superintendent Dr. Sonja Santelises said her district’s large projects — critical in supporting an urban school population — included building bathrooms, expanding summer programs and providing tutoring sessions.
“We didn’t want to leave money on the table,” Santelises said. “There was an intentional decision [in some urban school districts] to invest one-time money in building back what was already an under-resourced infrastructure in the school district — these are the districts that are least likely to have the funding to do the capital projects,” she added.
Despite critics ridiculing the spending practices in some states — leading to tense debates about learning loss — education experts told ABC News the summer programming and high-impact tutoring proved to be vital in academic recovery. Students who were socially isolated and fell behind used robust tutoring programs to not only catch up, but to also return to school if they were showing attendance issues, according to FutureEd Director Thomas Toch.
“Tutoring creates connections between students and adults and one of the things that we’ve learned in the wake of the pandemic is that kids are feeling more alienated, more isolated, than ever,” he said. “An important sort of antidote to these high levels of chronic absenteeism is connecting kids to adults more fully than they have in the past.”
A recent Pew Research Center survey of public K-12 teachers found more than 90% of teachers said their students are chronically absent. Of the teachers surveyed, about half of them said in five years the American education system will be worse than it is now.
Despite gains from the academic recovery programs ESSER provided during the pandemic, Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research Faculty Director Tom Kane said students are potentially facing permanent damage from the closures if learning loss ceases to improve.
What happens to ESSER now?
The obligation deadline for the last portion of ESSER funding is today — Sept. 30 — more than four years after the start of the pandemic and three years after ARP became law.
New emergency funding will not be granted to aid in the effort to help school communities recover from COVID. As U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona fights attacks on public education writ-large, he told ABC News “the recovery dollars were intended to prevent further exacerbation.”
Jess Gartner believes school districts, by and large, handled the lump sum money well. With FY 2025’s budget already in the books, school district leaders shouldn’t panic and should be prepared to rely on the funds they would have typically received before COVID, Gartner said.
“These budgets are planned years in advance,” Garner told ABC News. “It’s kind of like if you were planning to buy a house, right? You don’t show up at the closing, like, ‘Oh man, how am I gonna pay for this?'” she quipped.
Now school districts have to make due with the chunk of funding they annually receive from the federal government, which is on average about 10%. Similar to before the pandemic, they will be supported by state and local governments, which make up roughly 90% of public school funding.
But the COVID-19 emergency exposed infrastructure and workforce problems that public schools were dealing with before the pandemic and were exacerbated on a large scale during it, education experts said.
Some leaders like Santelises are calling for more help as the pandemic’s impact on students continues.
“It’s the federal government’s responsibility to champion looking at the long term impact and to not take the posture that somehow three years you wave a wand and all the kids are back, ” Santelises said. “The kids are not all back.”
(CHICAGO) — The final day of the Democratic National Convention wraps up with Kamala Harris’ big moment: her acceptance speech in which she gets to tell her story to the millions of Americans watching.
Her campaign says, in addition to describing her middle-class upbringing, she will continue to stress optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — the overall themes we’ve heard throughout the gathering.
Here’s how the news is developing:
‘Democracy knows no party’: Kinzinger
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he never thought he’d be at the DNC — but the Republican went on to explain what drew him to support Harris.
“Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party,” he said. “His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness. Sapping our strength. Softening our spine. Whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values.”
He said the Democrats are “as patriotic as” Republicans, continuing a theme of the night, as the crowd chanted “U.S.A.!”
After recounting the “profound sorrow” of Jan. 6, he said he suspected other conservatives would belong at the DNC as well.
“Democracy knows no party. It is a living, breathing ideal that defines us as a nation. It is the bedrock that separates us from tyranny — and when that foundation is fractured, we must stand united to strengthen it,” he said, while urging people to “vote for our bedrock values” by voting for Harris.
Eva Longoria leads crowd in ‘She se puede’
Actress Eva Longoria hyped up the crowd by taking the Latino motto “Si, se puede,” “Yes, we can,” which was used throughout Barack Obama’s campaign, and adding a twist.
“Tonight, I’m here to tell you, yes, she can. So, we’re going to say, ‘she se puede,'” she said leading to a chant from the crowd.
Harris is working to rebuild the Biden coalition
Our colleague at 538, Mary Radcliffe, did a deep dive earlier this week into polling crosstabs to see how Harris is doing with the coalition of voters that successfully elected Biden in 2020. We’re hearing from Black, Latino and Midwest politicians and celebrities tonight because that’s part of who Harris has to get to the polls to recreate that winning formula this November. You can read more detail in our story.
— 538’s Monica Potts
Adam Kinzinger rounds out slate of GOP speakers
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger is delivering a prime-time speech in support of Harris — rounding out a slate of Republicans who have spoken at the DNC this week, including former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye and former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Kinzinger, who retired from the House in 2023, has been a vocal Trump critic over the years, and although he describes himself as a “proud conservative,” he endorsed then-candidate Joe Biden for reelection in June.
The former Illinois congressman sat on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the attack. He was also one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 attack.
Since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, Kinzinger has supported the vice president, saying she stands for democracy.
-ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley
Fact-checking Ruben Gallego’s claim about veteran unemployment
Arizona Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego talked about veterans issues in his remarks, claiming “Kamala Harris has delivered more benefits to more veterans than ever before, and has achieved the lowest veterans unemployment rate in history.”
Leaving aside what Harris did specifically to lower unemployment for veterans, the numbers show that the unemployment rate for veterans in 2023 dropped to 3%, the lowest average the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded since it began tracking the veterans data in 2000.
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
‘Big Gretch’ Whitmer talks about how Harris will ‘G.S.D.’
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, or as she introduced herself “Big Gretch” got a huge ovation as she took the stage and immediately took a jab at Trump.
“Donald Trump called me ‘that woman from Michigan’ as an insult. But being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor. Like women across America, we just G.S.D. — Get Stuff Done,” using the sanitized version of the slogan.
Whitmer talked about the struggles of raising her child and helping her elderly mother. The governor noted that Harris has lived a similar life, unlike Trump
“You think he understands that when your car breaks down you can’t get to work? No! His first word was probably ‘chauffeur,'” she said.
Whitmer acknowledged the last couple of years have been hard but in the end they need to make sure the commander in chief is ready for any crisis like Harris.
“Why wouldn’t we choose the leader who’s tough, tested and a total bada–?” she said to cheers.
‘Listen to President Reagan’: Leon Panetta
While making the case for Harris as commander-in-chief, Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense under former President Barack Obama, said Trump will “abandon our allies and isolate America.”
“Listen to President Reagan,” Panetta said. “Isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments.”
In drawing a comparison between the two candidates, he said, “Trump tells tyrants like Putin they can do whatever the hell they want. Kamala Harris tells tyrants the hell you can. Not on my watch.”
He drew the largest applause when he said that the role of the U.S. military is to defend us from foreign enemies and “sure as hell isn’t to put immigrants in camps.”
Ruben Gallego brings out veterans, torches Trump
Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Iraq war veteran, brought on stage Democratic veterans serving their county and in elected offices at every level.
“These veterans represent the best of our country,” he said. “We stand united as veterans, Democrats and patriots to fight for everyone who serves.”
“But politicians like Donald Trump. They don’t stand with us,” he said. “They call patriots like Sen. McCain ‘losers.’ John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect.”
Gallego is running for Senate in Arizona against Trump-ally Kari Lake.
Harris’ motorcade arrives at United Canter
The vice president’s motorcade arrived at the United Center at 9:48 p.m. ET, according to the press pool.
Prime-time spot for Panetta
Another sign of how Democrats are trying to turn patriotism and national security arguments on their head, is the prime-time speaking spot for Leon Panetta — telling the story about giving the order that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
-ABC News’ Rick Klein
Fact-checking Mark Kelly: ‘Trump skipped his intelligence briefings’
Trump was not known to look through the Presidential Daily Brief regularly or read it to completion. He relied instead on oral briefings that he received from intelligence officials every few days.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote in his memoir that “Trump generally had only two intelligence briefings per week, and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”
—PolitiFact’s Aaron Sharockman
Mark Kelly touts Harris’ strength on foreign security
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly joked that it was tough to follow-up his wife Gabrielle Giffords and P!nk, but zeroed in on the topic of foreign security.
Kelly, who was in consideration for the vice president spot on the Democratic ticket, warned of Trump’s support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for America’s allies.
“Vice President Harris has always championed America’s support for NATO, for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people,” he contended.
Kelly, a retired astronaut and Navy pilot, also chastised Trump for his treatment of service members.
“Trump thinks that Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice are suckers and losers. If we fall for that again and make him the commander in chief, the only suckers would be us,” he said.
Security is next theme of the night
In line with various speakers’s emphasis on Harris as a would-be strong commander-in-chief, now the conversation is shifting toward security.
A video just aired of a previous Harris speech on the need for a “strong America” to ensure global stability and democracy.
Speaking now is retired Air Force general and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. Up soon is former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Republicans should ‘forfeit’ conventions: Meghan McCain
Conservative political commentator Meghan McCain has some advice for Republicans while watching the DNC tonight.
“Maybe republicans just shouldn’t have conventions… just forfeit because I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THIS!” she tweeted.
Maybe republicans just shouldn’t have conventions… just forfeit because I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN COMPETE WITH THIS! #DNC2024
Artist P!nk took the stage with her daughter Willow Sage Hart to sing “What about us?”
The 2017 song was written in response to the unrest going on in the country, the singer has said in previous interviews.
Mark Kelly operates iPad with speech for wife Gabby Giffords
Gabby Giffords, who survived a near-fatal gun shot to the head, spoke Thursday night on how she survived the assassination attempt and the need for gun reform.
“I survived!” she exclaimed.
Her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, was advancing her speech on an iPad as her own version of a teleprompter.
‘I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again’: Impactful stories on gun violence Four people impacted by gun violence shared their stories with the crowd in moving statements.
Abbey Clements of Newtown, Connecticut, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, said she carries that “horrific day” with her, when 20 children and six of her colleagues were shot.
“They should still be here,” she said.
Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, whose daughter was one of 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting, recounted that day through tears.
“I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again,” she said, as the crowd yelled out her daughter’s name.
Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina, said her niece’s murder on a beach remains unsolved.
Americans impacted by mass shootings shared their heartrending stories at the Democratic National Co…Show More “I’ll keep fighting,” she said.
Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Illinois, recounted when his high school classmate was shot in school.
“Instead of worried about taking a test, I started worrying about living to take another test,” he said.
He said he learned a lot that day: “How to run, how to hide and drop.”
Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath said the stories “strengthen their resolve” to fight for the “safer futures that we all deserve.”
Gun violence takes focus
Americans impacted by mass shootings just shared their heartrending stories.
Speaking next is Gabby Giffords, who was shot during an assassination attempt in when she was in Congress.
Gun violence is among the top issues in the Democratic Party’s platform, which calls for an assault weapons ban and ending the gun industry’s immunity from liability. In contrast, the GOP convention platform made no mention of firearm violence or gun control.
Harris’ record as a prosecutor was seen differently when she ran in 2020
In speeches and videos, the convention is talking about Harris’ record as a prosecutor. It’s a reminder that the national mood has shifted since her last run for president, when she ran in the 2020 Democratic primary. At the time, efforts to reform policing were reaching a fever pitch, and her record as a prosecutor actually hurt her with progressives in the party. Those issues would only grow by the time she joined Biden’s ticket as vice president, after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.
But that was four years go. Support for the Black Lives Matter movement has dropped since then, and Harris is working to reframe her history as a prosecutor to portray herself as a champion of victims. She’s also framing it in opposition to Trump, who has since been convicted in a felony case in Manhattan and is facing several other charges.
—538’s Monica Potts
Biden posts picture of phone call to Harris before speech
In an X post Thursday night, President Joe Biden said he and the first lady just talked to Harris ahead her speech at the convention coming up.
He added that they “can’t wait to watch her accept this historic nomination.”
In the photo, the Bidens, who are in Santa Ynez, California, are standing in front of a TV with the DNC on screen and Biden is holding a phone.
“Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future,” Biden said in the post.
March outside DNC continues on final night
Marchers took to the street before sundown on the final day of the DNC. They stretched for more than a mile and took nearly three hours to reach its final destination in Union Park, four blocks west of the stadium.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the coalition, said nearly 8,000 people were in the streets marching. Their goal all week was to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians, which he said was a success, especially when President Joe Biden mentioned the protestors in his speech Tuesday.
“It means people know we are here, and they are talking about us,” he said.
As marchers slowly moved through a residential street, just two blocks from the stadium, they banged drums, chanted (“just like 1968/nothing here to celebrate”) and taunted Chicago police officers who lined both sides of the street with bicycles.
A skirmish briefly forced the march to pause when several people surrounded Chris Eston, 21, of Peoria, who carried an American flag. After a block of pushing and shoving with the coalition protestors, Eston eventually was ejected from the street by police officers.
“They called my fascist,” he said of the marchers. “I told them in a true fascist country, protests don’t exist. If they’d do this in Iran, they’d get shot.”
-ABC News’ Mark Guarino
What to know about Harris’ family
Several members of Harris’ family, including stepdaughter Ella Emhoff and niece Meena Harris, were up on stage addressing the DNC. Her sister, Maya Harris, is also slated to speak later tonight.
Here’s what to know about her family.
‘Scandal’ stars reunite to fire up crowd: ‘You’re the Olivia Popes’
Kerry Washington took the stage to kick off prime-time coverage.
She began by criticizing any naysayers about a celebrity being at the convention and noted that this was not her moment, but every American’s.
“You are the messengers. You are the fixers. Dare I say it? You are the Olivia Popes,” she said referring to her character on the hit ABC show “Scandal.” “You are the superheroes saving this democracy.”
Washington ended her speech with a reunion with her “Scandal” co-star Tony Goldwyn, who came out to take a selfie with the roaring crowd.
‘Comma-la’
Harris’ two great-nieces were brought out for a tutorial with the crowd on how to pronounce her first name.
Since Harris entered the presidential race, Trump has reverted to an old ploy in his line of attack against her: mispronouncing and mocking her name.
“Confusion is understandable. Disrespect is not,” host Kerry Washington said.
Her name is a nod to her Indian heritage on her mother’s side. In her 2019 memoir, Harris wrote that she pronounced it “Comma-la” and that it means “lotus flower.”
The Chicks sing the national anthem
The Chicks are singing the national anthem, as the prime-time programming kicks off.
It’s been more than 20 years after the group went from country music darlings to pariahs after speaking out against then-President George W. Bush at a concert in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas,” singer Natalie Maines told fans in London in March 2003.
Maines later apologized, saying her remark was “disrespectful.” But country radio stations across the country yanked the trio from playlists, while some protesters resorted to publicly trashing their CDs to demonstrate against the singers’ perceived lack of patriotism.
The group changed their named from The Dixie Chicks in June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. They also released their first album in 14 years — “Gaslighter” — that year.
Sea of American flags
Scores of attendees are waving American flags as DJ Metro spins songs including Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and John Mellencamp’s “Small Town.”
A big theme of the week is patriotism.
Families share personal stories on hot-button political issues
Anya Cook, a Florida woman, spoke about being denied reproductive care as she experienced a miscarriage.
Craig Sicknick, with his mother at his side, spoke about his brother: fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
“My family knows how dangerous Trump is,” Sicknick said. “He incited the crowd, while my brother and his fellow officers were putting their lives at risk.”
Gail DeVore spoke about her diabetes diagnosis and the stress of being able to afford insulin. She praised the Biden-Harris administration for working to lower prescription drug prices.
Juanny Romero, the owner of a coffee shop, thanked the Biden-Harris administration for its support for small businesses during the COVID pandemic. Their policies, she said, helped her company double in size.
Steph Curry makes video appearance
Recent Olympic gold medalist and Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry made a video address at the convention.
The video included clips of Harris meeting with the Olympic men’s basketball team during a practice.
“That unity on and off the court reminded us all that together, we can do all things and continue to inspire the world. That’s what I believe. That Kamala, as president, can bring that unity back and continue to move our country forward,” he said.
Gen Z congressman addresses climate crisis
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Zer elected to Congress, spoke about how Harris and Walz plan to address the climate crisis, including through creating jobs that invest in clean energy.
“Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic, and unlike Donald Trump, our patriotism is more than some damn slogan on a hat,” he said.
Human-trafficking survivor reflects on Harris’ fight for victims
Courtney Baldwin, a survivor of sex trafficking and now a youth organizer, spoke about how then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris shut down the illicit website that listed her and other victims for sale.
Baldwin said she yearned for hope during those dark moments when she was able to hold on to pursue her dreams.
“Vice President Harris is fearless, compassionate, and she still gives me hope. She’s protected people like me her whole life, and I know she’ll fight for us all as president,” she said.
Healey says she ‘can’t wait’ for September debate
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she can’t wait to see Harris “prosecute the case against Donald Trump” during their ABC News debate on Sept. 10.
Democrats continue to lean into prosecutor v. felon theme
Tonight’s speakers include several prosecutors with ties to Harris or even Trump — including Tristan Snell, who spoke on stage about taking on Trump University fraud.
“Kamala Harris fought scammers like him. And as president, she will continue to fight for you, for us, for the people,” Snell said.
Democrats see the contrast between Harris the prosecutor and Trump the felon as a winning message.
“It’s a beautiful split screen,” Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee, previously told ABC News.
“She went after bad people who hurt the people that she was representing and that’s exactly what she’s doing now,” Cardona said.
Trump a ‘hateful man’: ‘Exonerated 5’
New York City Council member Yusef Salaam, one of the five men exonerated in the “Central Park Five” case, called Trump a “hateful man” during his DNC appearance.
“He wanted us dead,” Salaam said. “Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed. And DNA proved it.”
Korey Wise, another one of the men who was exonerated in the case, said they were “threatened” by people after Trump ran ads calling for the death penalty for violent crimes in New York in the wake of the attack.
He said Harris, by comparison, has “worked to make things fairer.”
“I know she will do the same as president and I approve that message,” Wise said.
Harris to promise to be ‘a president for all Americans’
In her acceptance speech tonight, Harris will deliver a message of unity as Democrats look to appeal to independent voters.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” she will say. “A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris will say, according to released excerpts of her speech.
“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads — and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”
Trump’s tie to the ‘Central Park 5’ case
Four of the five men in the “Central Park Five” who were wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger appeared at the DNC.
The five Black and Latino men, who were teenagers at the time of their arrest, were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions in the brutal assault on jogger Trisha Meili.
While the five teenagers awaited their trial, former President Donald Trump bought newspaper ads calling for New York to adopt the death penalty for violent crimes.
“Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!” the ad stated in all caps.
The five men were exonerated in 2002 after convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed to being Meili’s sole attacker, and Reyes’ DNA was matched to the crime scene. New York City settled with the Central Park Five in 2014 for $41 million in a civil rights lawsuit.
When asked in 2019, following the release of a Netflix series about the case, whether he would apologize for the ads to the men who were exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, Trump refused.
“Why do you bring that question up now? It’s an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that,” he said. “They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case, so we’ll leave it at that.”
Following Trump’s indictment in 2023 on 34 felony counts of falsified business records in the hush money case, some of the exonerated men called it “karma.”
Speakers make case for Harris as commander in chief
The DNC is highlighting national security, with recent speakers Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger; Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and New York Rep. Pat Ryan, an Army veteran, making the case for Harris as the commander in chief.
“I’ll tell you what I think of Donald Trump. They told me I can’t say that word on TV,” Ryan said.
Slotkin leans in on patriotism
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., made it clear: Democrats are patriotic, too.
Her speech was the most vocal example of how Democrats are taking back words like “freedom” and symbols like the flag, leaning on her time in the CIA and accusing Republicans of betraying the values they represent.
“We’re the damn United States of America. We lead,” she thundered in conclusion.
Warren makes couch joke when talking about Trump, Vance
Warren, a policy wonk, said she trusted Harris to handle the economy, abortion, climate change and more.
“Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance?” she said. “To look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldn’t let those guys — I wouldn’t trust them to move my couch.”
Elizabeth Warren gets teary-eyed during long ovation
The Massachusetts senator was seen wiping her eyes as she got emotional during a rapturous welcome from attendees at the United Center.
Vulnerable senators finally make an appearance
Last night, I commented on how few Democratic Senate candidates had addressed the DNC thus far — including zero in competitive races. Well, that ends tonight. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin spoke earlier, and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was just on stage. Both are in competitive races in swing states this fall.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Early speakers breeze through speeches
The beginning of the fourth night has been moving briskly, with shorter speeches.
Although there have been a few musical interludes from DJ Metro, they also did not last long. The previous three nights of the DNC have ended after 11 p.m. ET.
Harris’ plan for middle-class families
Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark focused on the burden of child care costs, saying Harris and Walz “know that when everyone can find and afford child care, our kids and our communities will thrive.”
The Harris campaign said it aims to keep some money in middle-class consumers’ pockets by reducing their tax burden.
The plans include a restoration of the expanded child tax credit of $3,600 per child that expired in 2022. Harris also proposed an additional, new $6,000 child tax credit for families with a child in the first year of life.
What Harris has proposed to help homeowners
Former HUD secretary Marcia Fudge and Congressman Ted Lieu just touted Harris’ housing proposals, which she unveiled last week.
Harris has vowed to provide up to $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homeowners and called for the construction of 3 million new housing units to ease the housing supply shortage.
Sen. Padilla: ‘I knew that I had some big Chuck Taylors to fill’
Sen. Alex Padilla, the first Latino to represent California and Vice President Kamala Harris’ Senate successor, told the crowd “I knew that I had some big Chuck Taylors to fill.”
Harris for years has often sported the popular shoe.
White outfits fill convention arena
White outfits peppered the convention hall here in an ode to suffragists and Harris’ historic candidacy.
The outfit motif has been a hallmark of House Democrats, who have used the color to send a signal at major events, such as past state of the union addresses, including this year’s, when Democrats sought to make a point about abortion.
-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod
DJ gets crowd moving to ‘Lil Boo Thang’
Chicago’s DJ Metro got the crowd to its feet, dancing to “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell, at the start of the night.
100,000 balloons ready to end the night: Source
Convention organizers have 100,000 balloons ready to drop at the end of the evening, according to a source with knowledge.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
4th night of the DNC underway
The fourth and final night of the DNC is officially underway.
The theme of the night is “For our future” and will feature a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris as she accepts the party’s nominee for president.
Emhoff says Harris remains focused on issues ahead of ‘her big moment’
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff said Vice President Kamala Harris remains focused on the issues even “while she is preparing for her big moment tonight.”
“She has been in the Oval Office with the president on all of these major issues. She’s been in the Situation Room on all these major issues, just with what’s happening now,” he said Thursday at an event about combating antisemitism hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
“She’s still working on these issues while she is preparing for her big moment tonight. That’s what leaders do,” he continued.
Harris has spent the day continuing to review her speech and tweaking it by hand as she prepares to deliver what will be the most important remarks of her political life, a personal familiar with the preparation told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce
Harris, Emhoff wish each other happy 10th anniversary
Vice President Kamala Harris wished her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff a happy anniversary on Thursday ahead of her acceptance speech at the DNC. The couple are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
“To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie,” Harris posted on social media, with a picture of the two visiting campaign headquarters in Wilmington the day after she announced her candidacy.
Earlier Thursday, Emhoff did the same, posting a slideshow of photos of himself and Harris.
“Ten years of marriage, forever to go,” Emhoff wrote. “Happy anniversary, @WRQ11HGNB. I love you.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Meet the oldest DNC delegate, Angie Gialloreto
Angie Gialloreto, 95, has attended every Democratic National Convention since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was on the ticket.
Since the 99-year-old former president could not attend this year’s DNC due to his health issues, Gialloreto is the oldest delegate to travel to Chicago, where she will watch Harris accept her party’s nomination.
The Pennsylvania native told ABC News the possibility that Harris could become the first woman to serve as president was a long time coming because women “have taken a back seat many years and now we’ll have a leader.”
When asked how she would celebrate if Harris ends up victorious during the November general election against Donald Trump, Gialloreto said she will focus on “getting ready for the next election of local candidates.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Gstalter
Walz meets with former students in Chicago
The morning after accepting his party’s nomination for vice president, Walz gathered in Chicago with former staff, family, friends and former students — including some of the football players who appeared on-stage Wednesday night at the United Center.
ABC News spotted Walz at a Chicago hotel on Thursday morning.
During that meeting, he mingled with several of his former Mankato West High School students over an informal breakfast, according to a source familiar with Walz’s movements. Some of those who met with Walz at the hotel were observed by ABC News donning “Harris-Walz Alumni” T-shirts.
Earlier in the day, Walz posted a video on X showing him hug and greet the students backstage at the convention.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Allison Pecorin and MaryAlice Parks
How Harris prepares for big speeches
Former campaign managers and senior staffers who worked Harris through the years shed light on how she prepares for big speeches.
They said she’s a trial lawyer at her core, and so preparation was key as well as being ready for audience reactions.
In crafting a speech, she would start with themes, outline and then focus in on what she wanted to say well in advance. She would be intimately involved in every speech, making edits and collaborating with those around her.
They said like most people she gets nervous, but would relax, review the remarks, save her voice, conserve energy and rest up.
-ABC News’ Zohreen Shah
What some of Chicago’s young voters think about the 2024 election
Three young voters — one liberal, one moderate and one conservative — discussed their thoughts on the 2024 election while in Chicago for the DNC.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Trump to do live play-by-play of Harris’ speech on Truth Social
Former President Donald Trump said he will do a “LIVE PLAY BY PLAY on TRUTH Social” of Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC Thursday night.
“We will start at 10 P.M., Eastern, and be covering and commenting on some of the earlier Speeches made, prior to hers,” Trump posted on his social media platform before going on to slam the dropout of President Joe Biden and saying he was going to “expose” Harris’ policies.
-ABC News Lalee Ibssa
Harris campaign dodges question on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at DNC
The Harris campaign at a briefing Thursday morning dodged a question from ABC News on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at the convention and why simply saying former President Donald Trump would be worse for Arab-Americans is not the campaign taking their votes for granted.
“No, we’re absolutely not taking their votes for granted,” campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said. “I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we’re proud, glad that they are here. We’ve worked to engage them throughout the convention.”
Tyler noted a panel conversation that was held with members of the uncommitted movement and said Harris recently engaged with the movement’s leadership in Michigan. He also emphasized that the vice president is working toward a resolution to the Israel-Hamas conflict “with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues and make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
12:58 PM EDT Gun control to be featured ahead of Harris’ remarks
Before Vice President Kamala Harris takes center stage Thursday night, gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates will address the DNC, according to Harris-Walz campaign spokesman Michael Tyler.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Rep. Maxwell Frost and the “Tennessee Three” — state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, are also expected to speak.
Tyler told reporters Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper, Sens. Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger — a member of Jan 6. select committee — will give remarks too.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
10:11 AM EDT Kamala Harris to tell her personal story in acceptance speech
The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention is leading up to a dramatic finale: Kamala Harris giving her acceptance speech and getting to tell her personal story — in her own words — to an audience of millions.
She’s expected talk about a middle-class upbringing with a working mother. She will continue to stress the themes we’ve heard from speakers throughout the convention: optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — drawing a contrast, her campaign says, with the “dark” vision of Donald Trump.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Last week, Trump blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the recent stock market crash and called it a “Kamala crash” — making unfounded claims that the crash happened because people have “no confidence” in Harris, while experts pointed to concerns about the health of the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve’s long wait to cut interest rates as among key reasons for the crash.
Trump has also claimed that if Harris wins in November, there could be a “Great Depression” on par with that of 1929.
On the campaign trail, Trump, even as he rails against the economy under the Biden administration, has announced sparse details on specific economic policy proposals for his possible second administration, often offering his signature “Trump tax cuts,” “Trump tariffs” and “drill, baby, drill” — a boost for the oil and gas industry — as solutions to most economic problems.
In recent weeks, however, he has touted two new policies: a proposal to eliminate taxes on tip wages and Social Security for seniors.
While campaigning in Las Vegas in June, Trump made a direct appeal to Nevada’s hospitality industry workers by announcing that the tax cuts would be the “first thing in office” he would do.
Harris also recently advocated for the same policy, drawing criticisms from Trump and his allies who called her “Copy Cat Kamala.”
“Copy Cat Kamala Harris proved she has no plan or ideas of her own to fix the economic pain and suffering that she personally inflicted on the American people for the last four years,” the campaign said in a statement.
Harris is also expected to make her first major policy rollout this week since jumping into the race with an economic policy speech.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The two dueling policy speeches come as the economy remains a central focus in the race to the White House for both campaigns.
Trump’s speech on Wednesday may also offer a more focused approach to contrast his vision with Harris as supporters have cautioned Trump away from personal attacks against Harris.
Both candidates have room to improve their reliability on economic issues, according to a recent CNBC poll from August, in which 40% of poll respondents said they would be better off financially if Trump wins, 21% said if Harris wins, and 35% responded saying their financial situation would not really change.
Several Trump supporters suggest the recent rise in prices at the grocery store or gas station as a reason they’re behind the former president, and younger voters are also concerned about home buying despite the president’s lack of control of mortgage rates.
“At the end of the day, we have got a lot of work to do to turn this country around. We need to secure the borders. We need to fix inflation. We need to make house prices affordable again,” Dante Bernard, a Trump supporter attending Trump’s Atlanta rally this month, told ABC News. “Less insulting and talking about people’s race or identity and more policies 100%. Let’s focus on politics. Let’s stop the name-calling.”
“It’s all about freedom, small government, less taxes. $2 gas – does everyone remember when it was $2 gas? Remember $2 Trump?” said Dan Bawler, from Carson City, Nevada, praising Trump administration policies.
Democratic voters who spoke with ABC News also say they’re concerned about the economy.
“The economy for my children, my grandchildren — I want to see them flourish and do well in a healthy economy,” said James Allen, a Democratic voter from Roanoke, Virginia.
(CHICAGO) — Former President Barack Obama’s highly anticipated speech at the Democratic National Convention stage on Tuesday night is expected to be a full-circle moment between him and Vice President Kamala Harris as he plans to champion her experience and make the case that she is the best person for the job.
Over the last few months, Barack and former first lady Michelle Obama have been in close contact with the vice president and supported her campaign in any way they are able, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
In Tuesday’s address, Obama will affirm why Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are the leaders the country needs right now, a source familiar with the speech told ABC News. He will lay out the task in front of Democrats over the next eleven weeks, and bring into focus the values at stake in this election and at the heart of our politics, according to the source.
The speech is expected to touch on Harris and Obama’s 20 years of friendship and political camaraderie with Harris. The two met at a fundraiser back when Obama was vying for the Illinois seat in the Senate and Harris was the San Francisco district attorney.
When then-Sen. Obama was running for president in 2008, Harris was one of his early supporters in that year’s Democratic primary. In fact, she was on the ground in Iowa in December 2007 knocking on doors to advocate on Obama’s behalf to caucus voters.
Harris talked about her dedication to Obama’s campaign at a 2019 presidential campaign event, recalling a moment when a caucus voter told her “They’re not gonna let him win.”
“And I stepped back in my mind and I looked at what I was looking at,” she said at a 2019 Des Moines event. “Which over the course of at least 85 years, all the indignities, all the injustices, that she has experienced and witnessed, and at that age of life, she wasn’t about to go through experiencing another disappointment or indignity. And so, me being me, I decided well I am not leaving here.”
Harris recalled talking with the voter longer and eventually saw her at the polls the next day.
“So, we know that when we don’t sit back and wait for somebody else to give us permission to tell us what is possible, we make what is possible, possible. We make it happen,” she said.
Obama endorsed Harris in 2010 when she ran for California attorney general and appeared at a rally in Los Angeles where he called her “a dear, dear friend.”
“I want everybody to do right by her,” he told the crowd.
Harris would speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and continued to make her case for Obama.
“President Obama stood with me and 48 other attorneys general in taking on the banks and winning $25 billion for struggling homeowners. That’s leadership,” she said. “That’s what President Obama did. And that’s why we need to give him another four years”
In 2013, Obama spoke highly of Harris at a fundraiser in California, but his comments got him in hot water at the time.
“She is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she is exactly what you’d want in anybody who is administering the law, and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake. She also happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country,” he said.
The comment on Harris’ looks sparked a backlash for being sexist and inappropriate, and he apologized the next day.
Obama would continue to support Harris as she ran for U.S. Senate in 2016 and later Joe Biden’s running mate on the 2020 presidential ticket.
The former president and former first lady have been in regular touch with Harris over the years, providing counsel and being a sounding board, too, a source familiar with the Obamas told ABC News.
On July 26, five days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, the Obamas officially endorsed Harris.
