2024 Election Latest: Kamala Harris kicks off campaign for president with a rally in Wisconsin

In her first rally as a presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris Harris framed the race with Donald Trump as a choice between ''freedom'' and ''chaos.'' Democratic leaders Charles Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Harris on Tuesday, capping off their party's swift embrace of her 2024 candidacy.

Meanwhile, Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service stepped down from her job following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

Follow the AP's Election-2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here's the Latest:

Democrats release more proposals for how they will formally choose a presidential nominee

The Democratic National Committee has released proposed rules that would give candidates until next week to vie for the party's nomination. But the process will almost certainly end with Vice President Harris replacing President Biden at the top of the party's ticket.

Candidates will have to qualify by the evening of July 30, according to draft rules released Tuesday.

If multiple candidates qualify, it could spark multiple rounds of voting over several days. But, if Harris is the only candidate, voting would be set to begin Aug. 1. The party said last week that it would not hold voting prior to the start of next month and that the process would be completed by Aug. 7.

Biden endorsed Harris when he left the race Sunday and no other major Democrat has announced plans to challenge her. An AP survey of delegates from states across the country found that she had already exceeded the threshold of support needed to secure the nomination.

Families of Israeli hostages gather for a vigil on the National Mall

Families of some of the remaining hostages held a protest vigil Tuesday evening on the National Mall, demanding that Netanyahu come to terms with Hamas and bring home the approximately 120 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.

About 150 people wearing yellow shirts that read ''Seal the Deal NOW!'' chanted ''Bring Them Home'' and listened to testimonials from relatives and former hostages. The demonstrators applauded when Biden's name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname ''Bibi'' — on the belief that he has been dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed cease-fire deal that would return all of the hostages.

Trump: Cheatle resignation was ‘inevitable'

Donald Trump said he does not think Kimberly Cheatle ''had much of a choice'' but to leave her post as Secret Service director after mounting questions about an assassination attempt against the former president.

''It should have happened, I would say, within an hour, not nine days, ten days,'' he said during a Newsmax interview Tuesday. ''That would seem to be inevitable.''

But Trump said he still feels physically safe as the Republican nominee. ''I have to feel safe. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this stuff,'' he said.

The former president said he believes his protective detail, ''should have had people on that rooftop'' where the gunman fired his shots, ''and they should have told me that there was a problem.''

Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, on Tuesday afternoon said on social media that she is not voting for former President Trump. ''I'm not voting for Trump & I'm not endorsing anyone else either,'' she wrote, hours after a news conference in which she said she was keeping an ''open mind'' about the presidential race.

''I won't vote for a candidate who's not pro-choice. I can't ask Alaskans to vote for a candidate who's not pro-energy,'' she said on social media.

Trump insists he can end the war in Gaza, though offers no specifics

Donald Trump says it's ''pretty amazing'' that Vice President Kamala Harris is, in the former president's words, ''refusing to meet'' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his U.S. visit.

This is untrue. Harris is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.

Host Sebastian Gorka, who worked in Trump's administration, did not ask the former president why his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would not be in attendance for Netanyahu's speech before Congress.

Trump did not offer a specific plan to address the Israeal-Hamas war but told Gorka, ''You got to get it settled. You got to get it finished. You got to get it over with. They've got to do their job.'' He claimed the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel ''would have never happened if we were there.''

House and Senate Democrats get a fundraising bump from Harris

It's not just the Harris campaign that's raking in donations for her presidential bid — the Democrats' House and Senate campaign committees are seeing record-setting online tallies for their candidates for Congress.

In the first 24 hours since Harris was endorsed by Biden, the House campaign arm raised nearly $1 million online, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Senate Democrats also saw back-to-back $1 million online fundraising days on Monday and Tuesday, their best days of the cycle as well, according to a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aide.

Trump again says Jewish Americans should not support Democrats

As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu prepares to speak before Congress, Trump is repeating his assertion that no American who is Jewish should support Democrats.

Trump was asked during a Newsmax telephone interview Tuesday evening how bad Democrats' agenda is for ''international affairs and our allies, such as Israel.''

Here is the response from the former president and current Republican nominee:

It's not the first time Trump has made such sweeping statements about Jewish Americans and their political preferences.

Landsman: Israel is in the ‘middle of an existential war'

Rep. Greg Landsman, an Ohio Democrat, says he plans to attend Netanyahu's speech, saying that Israel is one of the U.S.'s ''most strategic partners'' and is in the ''middle of an existential war.''

Landsman also questioned why Sen. JD Vance, Trump's running mate, is not planning to attend the speech. He called it a ''huge problem'' that Vance has argued against U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia, while Russia has received backing from Iran.

A senior adviser to the Trump campaign said that Vance ''stands steadfastly with the people of Israel,'' but would be out campaigning and unable to attend the speech.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., told AP on Tuesday that he was concerned for his interns' lives when protesters were trying to force their way into his office.

Kildee, who voted against a massive supplemental package to Israel earlier this year, said that he was confused why his office was targeted.

''Not that what they did is appropriate to do to anyone's office, but it just kind of speaks to the goal of being disruptive rather than actually communicating a message,'' Kildee said. ''And it's counterproductive to what we are trying to do to deal with the way Israel's prosecuting this war. They are not helping save lives.''

Protestors take advantage of Netanyahu's visit but focus in on Biden

Netanyahu's American visit has touched off a wave of protest activity, with some demonstrations condemning Israel and others expressing support for the nation but pressuring the Israeli prime minister to strike a cease-fire deal and bring home the hostages still being held by Hamas.

The demonstrators focused much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel. Multiple arrests were made, but the exact number is unclear.

''We're not focusing on Netanyahu. He's just a symptom,'' Hirschmann said. ''But how can (Biden) be calling for a cease-fire when he's sending them bombs and planes?''

Demonstrators stage mass protest against Netanyahu's visit and US military aid to Israel

Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a congressional office building Tuesday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu' s address to Congress, and Capitol Police made multiple arrests.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington Monday for a several-day visit that includes meetings with President Joe Biden and a Wednesday speech before a joint session of Congress. Dozens of protesters rallied outside his hotel Monday evening, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators took over the rotunda of the Cannon Building, which houses offices of House of Representatives members.

‘Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it?'

Kamala Harris launched her campaign for president Tuesday, framing her race with Republican nominee Donald Trump as a choice between freedom and chaos.

From an event hall in suburban Milwaukee, Harris told a cheering crowd, ''This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. This is about who we fight for.''

''We believe in the sacred freedom to vote,'' she said. ''We believe that every person in our nation should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence,'' she added, ''and we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies.''

Trump, by contrast, she painted as someone found guilty of fraud, liable for sexual abuse and who conjures ''chaos, fear and hate.''

Trump says he still wants to debate Harris but isn't ‘thrilled at ABC'

Former President Donald Trump said he'd like to debate Vice President Kamala Harris ''more than once'' but did not commit to appearing at the next scheduled debate in September on ABC.

On a Tuesday afternoon press call about Harris' immigration record, Trump said he was ''not thrilled at ABC'' and may want another network to air the debate. He said he'd only agreed to debate President Joe Biden twice — during the June 27 debate that led to Biden bowing out of the race and then in September — not Harris.

But Trump said he still wants to debate Harris.

''I think debating's important for a presidential race,'' he said. ''You sort of have an obligation to debate.''

''We have to remember that the shoulders on which we stand, generations of Americans before us, led the fight for freedom,'' she said. ''And now, Wisconsin, the baton is in our hands.''

''We believe in the sacred freedom to vote,'' she said.

''We believe that every person in our nation should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence,'' she added, ''and in reproductive freedom.''

The latter is an especially sharp point for Harris, who had been traveling speaking on behalf of reproductive freedom before Biden announced he would not seek reelection.

She pledged to ''stop Donald Trump's extreme abortion position because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies.''

Harris is not just beginning her campaign. She is beginning to form a campaign message, one with a middle-class theme not unlike the Biden administration's.

''We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead, a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every worker has the freedom to join a union,'' she said Tuesday.

''So, all of this is to say building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,'' she said. ''Because here's one thing. We all here, Wisconsin, know when our middle class is strong, America is strong.''

Harris: ‘The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin'

Vice President Kamala Harris is beginning her campaign for president with a rally in West Allis outside of Milwaukee.

To chants of ''Kamala, Kamala, Kamala!'' Harris thanked statewide elected Democrats, Gov. Tony Evers and Tammy Baldwin.

''I had the privilege of serving with Tammy when I was in the United States Senate. And I know that the folks that are here are going to make sure you return her to Washington, D.C., in November,'' she said.

''The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin,'' she said.

Alaska Rep. says she would ‘love it' if Harris chose a ‘pro-choice Republican' as her running mate

Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat who became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress in 2022, said Tuesday that she's keeping an ''open mind'' when it comes to the presidential race.

She said another factor will be who Harris' running mate might be.

''I would love it if she chose a pro-choice Republican so we could get away from some of the inflammatory partisanship that we've seen,'' she told reporters during a Zoom call.

Pennsylvania governor: Cheatle's resignation was ‘right thing to do'

Asked about Cheatle's resignation Tuesday at an unrelated news conference in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro said it was the ''right thing to do.''

''What happened in Butler was an absolute failure and there needs to be answers as to what went wrong. And I think her resignation is an important step in that process,'' Shapiro said.

Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit him at his Florida estate on Friday.

Trump made the announcement in a post on his social media network in which he said, ''my PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH Agenda will demonstrate to the World that these horrible, deadly Wars, and violent Conflicts must end. Millions are dying, and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.''

Trump originally posted that Netanyahu would visit earlier in the week, but posted an update saying that Netanyahu had requested to change the meeting day from Thursday to Friday.

Trump has spoken to other foreign leaders recently, including two visits at his home from Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán over the past few months.

Trump also had a phone call last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

President Joe Biden is now free of COVID-19.

The White House released a letter from his personal physician, Kevin O'Connor, on Tuesday noting that Biden was testing negative for the virus and that his symptoms have resolved.

Biden, who has been convalescing at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, is returning to Washington later Tuesday.

Democratic leadership endorse Harris for presidential nomination

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination.

He said the leaders waited to endorse her until she had secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump.

Biden said Sunday that he would not run.

Schumer said he spoke to Harris on Sunday and she wanted to win the nomination ''on her own.'' Jeffries added that Harris is ''ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.''

Senators to introduce legislation requiring Senate confirmation of future Secret Service directors

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., are introducing legislation on Tuesday to require Senate confirmation of future Secret Service directors.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Tuesday she is resigning.

Secret Service directors are currently appointed by the president. The senators said that making it a Senate-confirmed position would ensure that the individual is qualified to serve and force more oversight and transparency of the embattled agency. The senators called for immediate passage of the bill.

''President Trump's brush with death was a Secret Service failure of epic proportions, and this mission failure must never be repeated,'' Grassley said.

Secret Service's deputy director appointed as acting director, Homeland Security secretary says

Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe has been appointed acting director of the agency, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.

''I appreciate his willingness to lead the Secret Service at this incredibly challenging moment, as the agency works to get to the bottom of exactly what happened on July 13 and cooperate with ongoing investigations and Congressional oversight,'' Mayorkas said in a statement Tuesday.

Mayorkas said he has the ''utmost confidence in Deputy Director Rowe and the men and women of the Secret Service, who put their lives on the line every day and deserve our full support.''

The second gentleman's visit to an abortion clinic

At a northern Virginia abortion clinic, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, made his first appearance since his wife became heir apparent for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Emhoff toured the facility, talked with doctors, and then sat down with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to share his thoughts with a gaggle of news reporters.

He called the doctor's challenges to open her clinic ''really disturbing,'' and shook his head at stories of patients, who have struggled to get abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to one.

''It was important for me to be here today,'' Emhoff said, calling the landscape since the Supreme Court ruling ''horrific.''

North Carolina governor: Harris' running mate should have a ‘vision for America'

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters in Winston-Salem that he wants Vice President Kamala Harris to have ''the very best person'' as her running mate and will ''respect her process'' in choosing someone for that position. He declined further comment on his own prospects of becoming her running mate, including whether he has submitted vetting materials to the campaign.

''I appreciate people thinking of me that way, but like I say, this is the time for us to be supporting Kamala Harris, putting her in the spotlight,'' Cooper said Tuesday.

''I think there are a long list of Democrats who could do an amazing job in that position with her,'' Cooper said. ''The thing is, she has extraordinary people to pick from and I trust that she's going to make the right decision — not only for her but for the Democratic Party and the country.''

White House press secretary says calls for Biden to leave the presidency are ‘ridiculous'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is dismissing Republican suggestions that President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race suggests that he's no longer capable of finishing his term in the White House.

''I think that's ridiculous. Seriously,'' Jean-Pierre said Tuesday on ABC's ''The View.'' ''The president decided to not run for reelection. That's it. That's all he decided on. He wants to continue to do the work.''

She said the administration will ''run through the finish line'' and the end of Biden's presidency in January.

She quickly added, ''We're not done yet. He stepped down from being the nominee, but he's still the president.''

New volunteers give Democrats a boost of optimism

After weeks of being downcast about the November election, Democrats in Congress have come back with a renewed sense of optimism as Vice President Kamala Harris has entered the presidential race.

They are especially encouraged by the boost in new volunteers.

Democrats hope that having Harris at the top of the ticket will give them a better chance of retaking a majority in the House and even potentially holding on to the Senate.

''That is the juice behind the campaign,'' Jayapal said. ''That is the organizing. That is the door-knocking. That's going to get people to care about the election and be able to see themselves in it.''

Biden will address the nation Wednesday on his decision to drop 2024 reelection bid

President Joe Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid.

Biden posted on the social platform X that he would speak ''on what lies ahead'' and how he will ''finish the job for the American people.'' He will speak at 8 p.m. ET.

The president is scheduled to return to the White House on Tuesday after isolating at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home after being diagnosed last week with COVID-19.

President Joe Biden says he's grateful for Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle's decades of public service and says he will soon appoint a new leader for the agency.

In a statement shortly after Cheatle announced her resignation over the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Biden said Cheatle ''selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation'' and said he wishes her ''all the best.''

''The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions,'' Biden said. ''We all know what happened that day can never happen again.''

House Speaker calls Cheatle's resignation ‘overdue'

House Speaker Mike Johnson says the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was ''overdue'' and that it should have happened at least a week ago.

''I'm happy to see that,'' Johnson said. ''I'm happy to see she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats. Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people's faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency.''

Earlier Tuesday, Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the formation of a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and the security failures that led up to it.

Trump: ‘I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy' after the administration ‘did not properly protect me'

Minutes after news of Cheatle's resignation broke, Trump posted a statement on his social media network saying: ''The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!''

Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Cheatle's resignation. It was not clear if Trump's post in reaction to the news about the Secret Service director's resignation.

e director resigns

The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.

Kimberly Cheatle had served as Secret Service director since August 2022.

Cheatle announced her departure in an email she sent to staff. Cheatle had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

House Republicans pivot to Harris and her work on immigration

Rules Committee Chair Michael Burgess, R-Texas, said his panel will take up an emergency resolution Tuesday that focuses on the ''failures of the position of the border czar and how that has negatively affected our fellow citizens around the country.''

The panel's action would tee up the condemnation resolution for a full House vote later this week.

Harris was tasked early in the Biden administration with tackling the migration challenges at the U.S. southern border and working with Central American nations to address root causes of the problem.

''She's responsible for the biggest failure of this administration,'' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

The Biden administration has been touting progress at the border. Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plunged 29% in June, the lowest month of Joe Biden's presidency.

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Republican leaders are branding Vice President Kamala Harris as an ''extreme liberal'' who is out of step with most voters in the swing state just hours before she was to make a campaign stop there Tuesday.

''Kamala Harris' favorables are as bad as Joe Biden's,'' said Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming at a news conference ahead of the Harris event at a high school outside of Milwaukee. ''So they are exchanging one bad candidate for another bad candidate in the hope that the people of this state and this country don't notice where she actually stands on the issues.''

Schimming and other Wisconsin Republicans argue Harris was appointed as a ''border czar'' and blamed her for unauthorized crossings, citing Biden's tasking her with working on migration issues early in his term. Schimming also cited Harris' co-sponsorship of Sen. Bernie Sanders' ''Medicare for All'' national health insurance proposal.

''She was one of the most extreme liberals when she served in the U.S. Senate,'' Schimming said. ''A lot needs to be discovered about where she stands on critical issues that face this country. ... There's issue after issue where Kamala Harris is not in sync with the people of Wisconsin and the people of America.''

Johnson and Jeffries say they support bipartisan task force to investigate assassination attempt

The House could vote as soon as Wednesday to establish the task force, which will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats. Outrage over security failures that occurred to prevent the shooting has come from both sides of the political aisle.

''The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again,'' Johnson and Jeffries said.

Despite Musk's Trump endorsement, X remains a go-to platform for Democrats

A week after Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president, President Joe Biden's team used Musk's social platform X — in addition to more neutral spaces such as Facebook and Instagram — to announce he is ending his reelection campaign.

It's a testament to how ingrained the platform has become among the power players of the political and media world, as well as users looking for news and live updates of major events.

X is the exception: most of the site's users say following the news is a reason they use it and about half say they regularly get their news from there.

''X is where history happens,'' posted X CEO Linda Yaccarino on Sunday with a screenshot of Biden's announcement. While a comment pointed out that the same message was posted on other social media platforms as well, the narrative remains an important one for X and its long-touted efforts to become a ''digital town square.''

▶ Read more about how X has remained a go-to for Democrats

Trump complains again about debate plans, says ABC News ‘is not worthy'

Trump is again complaining about the plans for a debate, suggesting that he may not be as confident in facing Harris as he was Biden.

He has suggested moving the debate to Fox News Channel, which is seen as a friendlier venue for him.

Harris to visit battleground Wisconsin in first rally as Democrats coalesce around her for president

Vice President Kamala Harris is making her first visit to a battleground state Tuesday after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to win her party's nomination to challenge Republican former President Donald Trump, two days after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

As the Democratic Party continues to coalesce around her, Harris is traveling to Milwaukee, where she will hold her first campaign rally since she launched her campaign on Sunday with Biden's endorsement. Harris has raised more than $100 million since Sunday afternoon and has scored the backing of Democratic officials and political groups.

Tuesday's visit was scheduled before Biden ended his campaign, but it took on new resonance as Harris prepared to take up the mantle of her party against Trump and looks to project calm and confidence after weeks of Democratic Party confusion over Biden's political future.

AP survey: Harris has enough support of Democratic delegates to become party's presidential nominee

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an  Associated Press survey  taken in the aftermath of President Joe Biden's decision to drop his bid for reelection.

Harris, who was endorsed by Biden minutes after he announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination, worked to quickly lock up the support of her party's donors, elected officials and other leaders, and has so far received support from at least 2,214.

However, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That's because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.

For young voters, Harris is ‘far closer' in age

''She is very much leaning into what's popular right now,'' Watkins said. ''I've seen already her branding is what I can best describe as brat summer.''

Watkins said that has energized and excited her and other young Iowans, making what will be her first experience voting in a presidential election ''even better.''

Rep. Dean: ‘I've never been more optimistic about America'

The mood among many House Democrats lifted quickly as lawmakers returned to Washington with Biden having handed off the election to Harris.

''I've never been more optimistic about America because of his leadership, his selflessness, his putting country first,'' said Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.

She said one way Harris could approach campaigning in a swing state like hers would be to pick Pennsylvania's Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate for the vice presidential spot.

Biden to return to the White House, Harris will hit the campaign trail

President Biden is set to return to the White House tomorrow after spending six days at his beach home in Delaware convalescing from COVID-19. Biden became ill while campaigning in Las Vegas last week and headed to his vacation home to isolate.

Vice President Harris, meanwhile, will head to the battleground state of Wisconsin as her campaign for the White House kicks into high gear.