Dems leaders back Harris

The two most powerful Democrats in the United States Congress last Tuesday threw their full support behind Caribbean-American Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States.

US Senate Majority Leader Charles “Chuck” Schumer and US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, endorsed Harris, the daughter of retired Jamaican-born economist Dr. Donald Harris. 

“Vice President Harris has done a truly impressive job securing the majority of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination,” said Schumer at a joint, nationally-televised news conference with Jeffries in Washington. “So now that the process has played out, from the grass roots, bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Schumer said that when he spoke with Harris, she said “she wanted the opportunity to win the nomination on her own, and to do so from the grassroots up, not top down.”

Jeffries, whose 8th Congressional District in New York encompasses large concentration of Caribbean nationals in Brooklyn and Queens, said Harris’s candidacy has “excited and energized the House Democratic Caucus, the Democratic Party and the nation.

“She is ready, she is willing, she is able to energetically and emphatically lead America into the future,” he said. 

After President Joe Biden announced that he will not seek re-election, Jeffries described him as “one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history. 

“In less than one term, he rescued the nation from a once-in-a-century pandemic, brought the economy roaring back from the brink of recession, enacted consequential legislation for everyday Americans and saved our democracy by defeating the Insurrectionist-in-Chief,” he said. 

“America is a better place today because President Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity,” Jeffries added. “We are forever grateful.” 

An increasing number of leading Democrats, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, have also thrown their full support behind Harris. 

Pelosi expressed her “enthusiastic support” for Harris’s campaign, adding that Harris has “immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future.”

Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Caribbean-American Steven Horsford has lauded Biden and endorsed Harris. 

Horsford, the son a Trinidadian immigrant mother, who represents Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, said Biden “has served our country with integrity, a sense of character, and a sense of always putting country above self, and today was no exception. 

“I know today’s decision had to be difficult, but I join him in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said. 

After announcing that he will not seek the presidential re-election, Biden said he will fully support Harris for the Democratic nomination. 

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” he said. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.” 

Meanwhile, Harris said she was “honored” to receive Biden’s endorsement, describing the president’s decision not to seek re-election as “selfless and patriotic act”. 

Stressing Biden’s patriotism, Harris noted that Biden was “putting the American people and our country above everything else.”

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she pledged in a statement.