The far-left “Squad” of Democrats in the House of Representatives are backing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed President Biden following his shock announcement that he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race.
A group of young progressives who have made a name for themselves for rebelling against traditional Democratic leaders are quickly following the lead of the 81-year-old Biden’s handpicked successor.
“This is the president’s decision and I thank him for his many years of service to our country. [Harris] “We endorse her for the Democratic nomination and are committed to working with her to defeat Donald Trump in November,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote on X.
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Progressive Democrats like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Jamaal Bowman have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, who recently lost his reelection bid to a more moderate primary candidate, said on X that “with President Biden suspending his campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is the most qualified and best choice to lead us now.”
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri, who is facing a similarly tough re-election race, said in a statement, “I mean it when I say I trust Black women. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party and now is the time for us to move our country forward. Kamala Harris is fully prepared to lead at this time.”
As of late Sunday afternoon, the two prominent figures who had remained silent on the matter were Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Tlaib has been one of the Biden administration’s harshest critics over its handling of Israel’s war with Hamas.
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Rep. Cori Bush has also endorsed Harris. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Ocasio-Cortez, who has supported Biden amid growing pressure from Democratic lawmakers to back down, went live on Instagram shortly after former President Trump’s speech at last week’s Republican National Convention (RNC).
She said in the video that it was big Democratic donors who pressured Biden, and that those same people also didn’t want Harris to run.
“What I’m here to tell you is that the donor class, the elites and many in this room who are calling for President Biden not to be the nominee, are not even interested in the vice president being the nominee,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez to ask if she would support Harris.
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President Biden has said he will not run for reelection. (Hannah Beyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Biden is facing growing pressure to drop out of the 2024 presidential race following his disastrous defeat in a debate with Trump last month.
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His weak performance raised concerns about whether he had the mental and physical stability to campaign and serve another four-year term.
Biden caved to the pressure on Sunday, writing in an open letter that “serving as President has been the greatest honor of my life. While I intended to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and our country to step aside for the remainder of my term and focus solely on fulfilling the duties of my presidency.”
