New names emerge on Kamala Harris’ checklist of working mates

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent, in Washington, D.C.

White House staffers are holding a wine and pizza party for President Joe Biden’s speech Wednesday night in the Oval Office, DailyMail.com confirmed.

Reporters on campus captured droves of staffers walking from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building into the White Hosue for the reception.

The president is expected to address the nation at 8 p.m. ET and explain in his own words his decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

Biden made the dramatic decision on Sunday, posting a letter to the American people on X and then almost immediately endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Joe Biden will announce he decided to exit the 2024 race because ‘the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.’

He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

He will say he sees his decision as the ‘best way to unite our nation.’

The White House released excerpts ahead of the president’s speech in the Oval Office, which takes place at 8 pm ET.

‘The defense of democracy is more important than any title. I draw strength, and find joy, in working FOR the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our Union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your futures.’

‘It’s about ‘We the People.’ …I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation.’

‘Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as President. That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote – to the right to choose.’

‘The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America – lies in your hands.’

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Democrats decided officially on Wednesday that they’ll go ahead with a plan to have delegates vote for their presidential nominee virtually ahead of the Chicago convention in mid-August.

The Democratic Convention Rules Committee voted 157-3 on a timeline that would kick off electronic voting for presidential candidates as early as August 1, with the plan that it would be wrapped up by August 7, in order to meet every state’s balloting deadline.

That means that Vice President Kamala Harris – who a majority of Democratic delegates have already pledged to support – would need to name a running mate before August 7.

On Wednesday CBS reported that Harris’ veepstakes vetting team – led by former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder – is looking at about a dozen candidates.

They include a number of swing state and midwestern Democrats: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Several Cabinet heads are also being considered – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – who ran against both Biden and Harris during the 2020 Democratic primary – and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, a former governor of Rhode Island.

The team is also reportedly looking outside of government as well.

Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, never held elected office before winning his White House bid in 2016. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, was a best-selling author and businessman before winning his Senate election in 2022.

Fresh polling shows that former President Donald Trump would have been better off had President Joe Biden stayed atop the Democratic ticket.

A new CNN/SSRS poll found that Trump’s six-point lead over Biden got cut down to three points now that his rival is Vice President Kamala Harris – with a plus or minus three point margin of error.

Pollsters surveyed the same group of registered voters that they did in April or June in order to measure real changed in the electorate’s mood.

They found that Harris retained 95 percent of voters who said they’d choose Biden in the fall, while Trump retained 92 percent of his supporters in this new match-up.

Among those who previously said they would neither support Biden nor Trump in a two-way race now split 30 percent for Harris and 27 percent for Trump, with the remainder saying they’d still support someone else.

Donald Trump declared victory over Joe Biden on Wednesday evening and promised thousands of adoring fans in North Carolina that there’d be no more Mr Nice Guy as he promised he would make Kamala Harris his next victim.

He took a lap of honor at his first rally since Biden dropped out of the race and unveiled his new attack strategy for Harris.

And he laughed off reports that he was a changed man after coming within an inch of being assassinated.

‘I was supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot,’ he said at a sports arena in Charlotte. ‘I became nice.

‘When you are dealing with these people you can’t afford to be nice. So if you don’t mind I’m not going to be nice.’

This election was meant to be boring: Two old, when men squaring off just like they did in 2020.

By Katelyn Carelle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Charlotte, North Carolina and Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Former President Donald Trump mused Wednesday night if Democrats would ‘bring in a third guy’ if he starts dominating Vice President Kamala Harris by double-digits in the polls.

Trump is holding an indoor rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state he narrowly won in 2020.

‘Three days ago we officially defeated the worst president,’ the Republican nominee said. ‘He was losing so badly in the polls he quit.’

‘So now we have a new victim to defeat – Lyin’ Kamala Harris,’ Trump said.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the 2024 race, endorsing Harris a short time later.

Since then Democratic delegates have coalesced around Harris and she’s expected to become the party nominee by August 7 in a virtual vote.

So far polling has shown that the race has tightened with Harris atop the Democratic ticket.

‘Kamala Harris is unfit to lead,’ Trump told his crowd at the Bojangles Coliseum. ‘There’s never been a lunatic like this in the White House.’

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise stop Wednesday to the City of Houston’s Emergency Operations Center to receive a closed-door briefing on the ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Beryl.

‘Thank you all for your work,’ the likely Democratic nominee said to waiting staffers, who greeted her with cheers, before walking into the meeting.

She ignored reporters questions about President Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech Wednesday night, where he’ll explain to the American people in greater detail his decision to drop out of the 2024 race – handing the baton to Harris.

Afterward she told staff waiting outside that they were heroes.

‘It’s the commitment to the people and caring about them. Perfect strangers,’ she said.

Biden arrived back at the White House Tuesday after not being seen for six days as he recovered from COVID-19.

In the meantime, Harris visited campaign headquarters Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, spoke to a crowd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Tuesday and addressed sorority sisters at an event in Indiana Wednesday before heading to Houston.

She’s slated to keynote the American Federation of Teachers’ convention in Houston on Thursday before traveling back to Washington, D.C. for an in-person meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden’s top spokesperson was grilled repeatedly about Biden’s apparent change of heart when it came to a second term and denied his health had anything to do with the decision.

During her press briefing – the first since Biden’s historic decision to step down as the Democratic nominee – Fox News‘ Peter Doocy asked her: ‘It would seem that people in this White House knew that President Biden was slipping and it was hidden from the American people – so who ordered White House officials to coverup a declining president?’

‘There’s been no coverup,’ she replied.

Pro-Gaza protesters tore down American flags at DC’s Union Station and burned them. They also lit an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on fire.

The protest took place near the Capitol where Netanyahu was addressing a joint session of Congress.

The activists revealed bright yellow t-shirts emblazoned with ‘SEAL THE DEAL NOW’ that had previously been hidden behind zipped jackets and buttoned-up dress shirts.

The protests were quiet, however, not halting the Israeli prime minister’s speech.

House Speaker Mike Johnson sent out a warning earlier this week instructing against outbursts during the address, saying those who do will be quickly apprehended and ‘subject to arrest.’

Immediately after the outburst, Capitol Police moved in to swiftly arrest the protestors and escorted them out of the chamber.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, the 87-year-old New Jersey Democrat who is running for reelection, remain in intensive care and with breathing assistance, 10 days after being hospitalized for a fever.

‘Doctors tell us he continues to improve and remain hopeful for a complete recovery,’ Ben Rich, his chief of staff, told the New Jersey Globe. ‘He is currently devouring CNN for fresh Harris campaign news.’

The vice president’s visit to Indianapolis was her second stop on the road since locking in enough delegates to become the Democratic presidential nominee within two days President Biden dropping out of the 2024 race on Sunday.

But it comes amid criticism from Republicans back in Washington who accuse her of skipping out on presiding over a joint session of Congress where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to deliver remarks.

Harris gave the speech at the historically black Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.’s Grand Boulé.

Her appearance at the event was scheduled before Biden’s exit from the race, but the vice president used the visit to rally support from black women, a critical voting bloc for Democrats.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

The leaders of Fox News Channel sent a letter to the Trump and Harris campaigns on Tuesday and pitched adding a September 17 debate in Pennsylvania to the schedule.

Originally the Trump and Biden campaigns had agreed to two presidential debates – the CNN debate that took place on June 27 in Atlanta and an ABC News debate slated for September 10.

Almost immediately after Biden bowed out of the 2024 race, Trump started the push to have his second debate be moved to a more Republican-friendly network.

In a Truth Social post overnight Tuesday, Trump called ABC News a ‘joke.’

‘ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, is not worthy of holding a Debate, of which I hope there will be many!’ Trump said.

Fox floated having Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderate the September 17 showdown.

An initial request for comment from the Harris campaign has gone unreturned.

Benjamin Netanyahu received a standing ovation and cheers from those in attendance at his joint address to Congress on Wednesday.

The applause lasted minutes before Speaker Mike Johnson introduced the prime minister.

After the introduction, applause broke out again and members once more rose to their feet.

Typically during joint addresses to Congress, the highest ranking member of the Senate presides over the affair, which would be Vice President Kamala Harris, but that is not the case Wednesday.

The vice president is the president of the Senate.

Harris said she had a scheduling conflict and thus could not attend Netanyahu’s address. She’s in Indiana giving a speech at a convention of her college sorority.

The next highest ranking member, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., decided against attending in an act of defiance against the Israeli leader.

So, Cardin was the next in line, and now he is presiding over the address alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Capitol Police said that it has deployed pepper spray after pro-Gaza protests turned ‘violent.’

‘Part of the crowd has started to become violent at First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,’ USCP said in a statement on X. ‘The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is on Capitol Hill for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress.

He confirmed to reporters that he is on the Hill as a ‘guest’ of Netanyahu.

Senators have arrived at the House chamber ahead of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress.

After the members of the House had entered, a House aide banged down the gavel to announce the arrival of lawmakers from the upper chamber.

Surprisingly, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who typically wears a hooded sweatshirt, came into the chamber wearing a full suit.

The speech is expected to begin momentarily.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the U.S. Capitol before his speech to Congress.

The Israeli leader was greeted by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The pair had a media availability immediately after Netanyahu’s arrival and will soon pose for pictures on the speaker’s balcony overlooking the National Mall.

Netanyahu’s arrival comes as thousands of protestors have flocked to Washington, D.C. to demonstrate against him.

Signs denouncing Netanyahu and bloody effigies of him have been spotted around the Capitol ahead of his speech.

Close to 100 Democrats are expected to skip Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Capitol speech due to tensions over the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Most notable absences include Vice President Kamala Harris, who would have presided over the Senate, but is claiming a scheduling conflict, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the second most powerful Democratic Senator Dick Durbin D-Ill.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is also planning to boycott the speech, calling the prime minister a ‘war criminal’ amid the bloody conflict that has seen loss of life in Gaza.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is eradicated following the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel by the terrorist who raped women, killed and beheaded children and took hundreds of Israelis hostage, including several Americans.

Police have estimated that up to 10,000 protestors will be descending upon Capitol Hill today to call for an end to the ‘genocide’ in Gaza and demand a ceasefire.

Due to security concerns and a waning number of U.S. Capitol Police officers, over 200 New York City Police Department officers were deployed down to Washington, D.C.

FBI Director Chris Wray stunning revealed bombshell details about former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, including what devices shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks used.

Crooks, who shot Trump in the ear just 400 feet away from the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 from the roof of a nearby building just outside the security perimeter of the event.

Wray revealed that investigators found Crooks had a drone that he used to survey the scene hours before the event started, which was recovered from his car parked nearby.

He flew the drone around 4 p.m. over the area of the rally close to ‘200 yards’ from the stage to survey the scene. Trump took the stage around 6:03 p.m., over two hours later.

The FBI has also recovered three ‘explosive devices’ in possession of Crooks.

They were ‘relatively crude devices’ but had the ability ‘to be detonated remotely,’ Wray said.

The former first lady and secretary of state was defeated by Barack Obama in the Democratic primary in 2008, and by Trump at the 2016 election.

But that didn’t stop Clinton from boasting that she ‘won the national popular vote’ in 2016 while giving  Harris her enthusiastic support and predicting she can become the first female US president.

Clinton, 76, compared herself to Harris in a piece for the New York Times on Tuesday, where she portrayed herself as blazing a trail for Harris, 59.

‘While it still pains me that I couldn’t break that highest, hardest glass ceiling, I’m proud that my two presidential campaigns made it seem normal to have a woman at the top of the ticket,’ she wrote.

Clinton, who was first lady to her husband Bill in 1993 to 2001, explained how she was a victim of sexism as a female presidential candidate.

The Judiciary hearing with FBI Director Chris Wray has begun. It opened with a tribute to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, a committee member who recently passed away.

‘Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today’s Joint Meeting of Congress. This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings,’ a Pelosi spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

At least 40 House representatives and nine senators have said they will skip out on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress today, including one Republican – Rep. Thomas Massie.

Tens of thousands of pro-Gaza protesters are expected to descend on DC for the address today.

For Democrats who had been fearing a wipeout this fall with Trump coasting to victory as President Biden struggled, the shake-up on the ticket and party quickly rallying behind Vice President Kamala Harris is a welcomed change.

Democrats at Harris’ first campaign event as presumptive presidential nominee in Wisconsin on Tuesday breathed a sigh of relief and said they’re confident the vice president has what it takes to beat Donald Trump in November.

Several voters told DailyMail.com that despite their deep respect for Biden, they were finally feeling enthusiastic and hopeful this campaign season with Harris at the top of the ticket.

‘Honestly this is so exciting. I’m honored to be here,’ gushed Maria Olig from Milwaukee who showed up for Harris’ rally. ‘We need change. Kamala’s going to bring it.’

She said she came to the event after finally being able to ‘wake up in the morning and be optimistic.’

The Secret Service has asked Donald Trump to hold his future rallies indoors after the assassination attempt.

The embattled agency still dealing with the fallout of the shooting shared their ‘concerns’ with the campaign about holding events in outdoor spaces, The Washington Post reported.

Trump and his team are said to have agreed and are now looking for larger indoor arenas that provide more cover in the build-up to the general election.

He is back on the campaign trail Wednesday afternoon with an appearance at the Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The news sparked a frustrated response from Republicans.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said it would be ‘shame’ if the former president was restricted to indoor spaces.

On Tuesday, the Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle finally resigned over the massive security failures that led to Trump dodging a bullet.

New York Attorney General Letitia James says getting Kamala Harris elected president is her ‘singular focus’, despite plenty of cases on her hands.

Trump, who was also banned from doing business in New York for three years, is appealing the verdict as the fine accrues interest, and James will try to seize his assets if he fails to pay up.

Vice President Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race against Trump on Sunday.

James quickly endorsed Harris and continued her support when appearing on MSNBC on Tuesday night.

Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting Kamala Harris is being celebrated in her ancestral home in south east India with prayers.

Harris’ grandfather hails from the village of Painganadu-Thulasendrapuram in the province of Tamil Nadu. On Monday, residents of the area held a special prayer service at the Dharma Sastha Temple.

Those services will continue until November 5, election day. ‘We are very happy that the granddaughter of P V Gopalan, Kamala Harris, is likely to be the US Presidential nominee,’ a local resident told The Deccan Herald.

‘We organized special poojas to pray that she is able to get the nomination and eventually triumph against Donald Trump,’ they added. A pooja is a Hindu worship ritual.

None of her relatives remain in the area, the priest of the temple told The Hindu, confirming that the last of her family left ‘several decades ago.’

Members of Congress are expected to demand answers from FBI Director Chris Wray about former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.

It comes days after the former Director of Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle was forced to resign after evading answering rounds of questioning by punting to the FBI in another congressional hearing earlier this week.

Now it’s Wray’s turn in the hot seat, and it’s unlikely to go smoothly.

The Judiciary Committee hearing is expected to focus on both the shooting at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally and the ‘ongoing politicization’ of the FBI.

The 81-year-old has not showed his face since his bombshell announcement he was dropping out of the race on Sunday and sparked wild conspiracy theories with his absence.

The last time he made an appearance was last Wednesday – when he slowly exited Air Force One in Dover to go into isolation after being diagnosed with COVID. Only his voice was heard on a call into his old campaign office on Monday.

On Tuesday he emerged from his SUV with a mask, turned to the press and said he is ‘well’ and then slowly headed to the stairs of Air Force One to make the trip back to Washington D.C. for the first time since ending his 2024 bid.

‘Watch and listen. Why don’t you wait and hear what I say,’ he said when asked what his message during his Wednesday night speech will be.

But when asked why he dropped out of the presidential race, Biden just laughed and walked away. He slipped on his aviator sunglasses and got into the Beast.

The Vice President has taken the nationwide lead over her Republican rival after securing enough delegates to be named the Democratic candidate at the party’s convention in Chicago next month.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Harris leading Trump by 2 percent in a head-to-head general election matchup as she hits the campaign in place of the ailing 81-year-old Biden.

It follows a slew of other polls taken in the aftermath of Biden putting a stop to his campaign.

Trump was leading Harris by tight margins in polls taken when speculation swirled that Biden wouldn’t be on the ticket.

By Emily Goodin, Senior White House Correspondent

Air Force One was flying so fast that I was shaking in my seat.

Now we were joining him on a mad rush back from Las Vegas to the Bidens’ Rehoboth Beach getaway in Delaware.

Moments after fastening my seatbelt, the massive engines of the presidential Boeing 747 roared to life.

The flight attendants, in their custom blue uniforms, stumbled in the aisles as the jet’s nose pointed skyward.

Tray tables shook. Reporters held up their water glasses so they wouldn’t spill.

Most concerning, though, was that we had no idea what was going on.

For security reasons, there is no Wi-Fi on Air Force One, so we were cut off from the outside world.

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