Kamala Harris thanks Joe Biden for endorsement as 2024 campaign is renamed ‘Harris for president’: Live updates

Vice President Kamala Harris says she will seek the Democratic nomination, thanking Joe Biden for his endorsement after he left the race.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” the vice president said.

Biden announced the decision to end his campaign just hours earlier.

“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement, endorsing Harris soon afterward.

The Biden-Harris campaign has now filed with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee “Harris for President.”

Meanwhile, the president is self-isolating at his beach house in Delaware after contracting COVID-19 last week.

Biden’s decision comes after 37 Democratic and Independent lawmakers publicly called for the president to pass the torch to a different candidate. Several influential Democrats, including Barack Obama , Nancy Pelosi , and Chuck Schumer , reportedly also called on Biden to drop out in private.