PBS News Hour full episode, July 22, 2024

Introduction AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening. I'm  Amna Nawaz. Geoff Bennett is away. On the "News Hour" tonight: Kamala Harris seeks  to unify Democrats behind her presidential bid   with just months remaining before voters head  to the polls. We delve into Harris' record,   from her time as San Francisco's district  attorney through her years as vice president. And on Capitol Hill: KIMBERLY CHEATLE, U.S. Secret Service Director:  What I can tell you is that there are times... REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): You didn't  get briefed on how many times you   turned down the Trump detail when  they asked for additional help? AMNA NAWAZ: Congressional lawmakers grill  the Secret Service director, but get few   answers about what led to the assassination  attempt on former President Donald Trump. (BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour." Vote 2024 Vice President Kamala Harris is entering  uncharted territory after President Joe   Biden announced his withdrawal from the  presidential race yesterday. One day later,   Harris is already the favorite to win the  Democratic Party nomination for president. Laura Barron-Lopez has the latest. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Granted  by a resounding applause,   Vice President Harris arrived at  her campaign office in Wilmington,   Delaware, this afternoon ahead of her first  campaign event as a presidential candidate. JOE BIDEN, President of the United States:  With the COVID -- excuse me -- with... LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: It comes 25 days  after President Biden's disastrous   debate performance that raised  questions about his ability to run. REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): There are  very honest and serious and rigorous   conversations taking place  at every level of our party. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: For weeks, the  president faced mounting pressure   from allies in his own party to end his campaign. JOE BIDEN: I am running and going to win again. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: But he  insisted that he was all in   and almost nothing could convince him to drop out. JOE BIDEN: If the lord almighty  came down and said, "Joe,   get out of the race," I would get out of the  race. The lord almighty is not coming down. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Then, during  a weekend of isolation at his   home in Delaware with a COVID diagnosis,  President Biden announced his decision. He wrote in a letter posted on  the social media site X Sunday:   "It has been the greatest honor of  my life to serve as your president,   but it is in the best interest of my party  and the country for me to stand down." Shortly after, he threw his full support behind  Harris. Top Democrats like the Obamas, the   Clintons, and leaders in Congress praised Biden's  decision to drop out. Even former Vice President   Mike Pence applauded the move, writing on X today:  "President Joe Biden made the right decision for   our country, and I thank him for putting the  interests of our nation ahead of his own." Harris herself praised the president  at the White House this morning. KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States  (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Every day,   our president, Joe Biden, fights for  the American people, and we are deeply,   deeply grateful for his service to our nation. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Many Democrats quickly  united behind Harris. In its first 24 hours,   Harris' campaign racked up  $81 million in donations,   the highest 24-hour raise, her team  said, of any candidate in history. Some who were seen as possible  competitors to Harris lined up behind her. GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): I'm excited  to fully endorse Vice President Harris. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Kentucky Governor Andy  Beshear gave his backing this morning,   but sidestepped questions about  whether he'd serve as her running mate. GOV. ANDY BESHEAR: The only way I would  consider something other than this current   job is if I believed I could further  help my people and to help this country. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: North Carolina Governor  Roy Cooper delivered a similar message. GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Kamala Harris is   the person. She's excited to  win this thing, and I am too. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Meanwhile, Michigan  Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave her endorsement,   but said she would not accept the  vice presidency if offered it. QUESTION: If they offer it, you will not take it? GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI):  I am not leaving Michigan. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Pennsylvania  governor Josh Shapiro, California   Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor  J.B. Pritzker also said they support Harris. Though holding back an endorsement, West  Virginia Senator Joe Manchin confirmed   today that he will not challenge the  vice president for the nomination. QUESTION: So, you are not interested in  running for office, true, for the presidency? SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): I'm not  running. I'm not running for office. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: On the right,  a different story. House Speaker   Mike Johnson rebuked Biden's decision to drop out. He wrote in a statement that it invalidated  the votes of more than 14 million Americans   and joined other Republicans in calling  for Biden to resign from the presidency. Former President Trump lambasted the move on  TRUTH Social, falsely saying of the Democrats:   "They stole the race from Biden after he won it in   the primaries. These people are  the real threat to democracy." And team Trump is already  attacking their new opponent,   including Trump's running mate, J.D.  Vance, at a rally in his hometown today. SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), Vice Presidential  Candidate: If you want to lead this country,   you should feel grateful for it. You  should feel a sense of gratitude. And I   never hear that gratitude come through  when I listen to Kamala Harris. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Tomorrow, Vice President  Harris is expected in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,   for the second full day of  her campaign for president. Despite Trump's fast attacks on Harris, Democrats  are energized and are trying to turn the tables on   the Republican narrative, pointing out that Trump  is now the oldest presidential nominee in history. AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, you have been reporting for  weeks on the growing calls for President Biden to   step aside, but tell us how he ultimately arrived  at the decision to do so just this past weekend. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sources familiar with  the decision-making, Amna, told me that,   up until Saturday, President Biden was still  holding firm, still wanting to stay in this race. And President Biden was alone for much of his  COVID isolation, which started last Wednesday,   until his two closest longtime advisers, Steve  Ricchetti and Mike Donilon, arrived and huddled   with him on Saturday. They gave him the lay  of the land essentially for his campaign,   talking to him about him losing support in  Congress, about donors shutting off money. They ran through polling with him, sources  told me. And it wasn't until Sunday,   when President Biden decided he was ultimately  going to bow out of this race. And all of his   other senior advisers, including Jen  O'Malley Dillon, the campaign chair,   as well as Jeff Zients, who is the chief of  staff to the president at the White House,   were not aware of this decision until about  1:45 p.m. On Sunday, literally one minute,   Amna, before the president posted  on X his announcement about it. So they were finding out in real time. I also  spoke to Senator Chris Coons of Delaware,   a longtime ally of Biden, who said that  the president really was weighing staying   in this fight. He was deeply torn,  didn't want to get out of this race,   but ultimately felt it was the  right decision for the country. And Senator Coons said that he felt as  though months of relentless focus on the   debate is ultimately what hurt President Biden's  polling numbers, more than the debate itself. AMNA NAWAZ: Remarkable few  weeks in political history. So what happens next? Walk us through what a   potential nominating process for  the Democrats could look like. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So the Democratic  National Committee Rules Committee is   going to be meeting Wednesday of this week  to establish a framework for how the process   is going to work for nominating, be  it Kamala Harris or another nominee. I spoke to members of the DNC Rules  Committee, who said that one of the   biggest questions that they're going to be  addressing this week is whether or not they're   going to still hold a virtual roll call vote  ahead of the physical convention in Chicago. That would be some time between August  1 through 5. The actual convention is in   mid-August. And so they're trying to figure  out if they're still going to hold it early,   because they want to be on the  strongest footing possible to   basically fight off potential Republican  litigation regarding ballot access. And so it's highly likely that they will still  move forward with that virtual roll call vote,   based on the people that I was talking   to on the Rules Committee. And a lot of them do  expect that Kamala Harris will be their nominee. AMNA NAWAZ: And you mentioned  some of the key folks already   that we have seen come out to back  Harris as the Democratic nominee. Is   that what we're seeing across the  rest of the Democratic Party too? LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: We are. She is shoring up support very quickly within  this first 24 hours. And just today, Vice   President Harris went to Wilmington, Delaware,  to what was Biden H.Q., which is now Harris H.Q.,   and President Biden phoned in while she was  there, saying that he hoped that his staff   would give as much of their heart and soul  to Vice President Harris as they did to him. But, notably, one of the big endorsers  for Vice President Harris is Nancy Pelosi,   the former speaker, who had expressed  to some members that she wanted a more   competitive process. But Harris has secured  endorsements from not just Nancy Pelosi,   but all of her would-be challengers,  including Governors Whitmer, Shapiro,   Newsom, and Pritzker, all 50 state  Democratic Party chairs endorsed Harris. Notably, though, House Minority Leader  Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader   Chuck Schumer have not endorsed her yet.  They're expected to meet with her soon,   sometime this week. Hakeem Jeffries said  that he thinks she's off to a great start,   but when asked by reporters  today did not endorse her. AMNA NAWAZ: So if she were  to secure the nomination,   what are you hearing about who she  might pick as a potential running mate? LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So those considered to be  on her short list include Governor Roy Cooper of   North Carolina, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky,  and then also Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona,   a notable swing state there, as well as  Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania,   another big battleground state there, and then,  finally, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado. All of those men, I'm told, are being  considered potentially for her to be   her vice president. And multiple sources have  also told me that they expect Vice President   Harris to pick her own vice presidential  candidate as early as this week, Amna. So Democrats are moving on a really fast  timeline here because of the fact that they   may very well hold that roll call vote for their  nominee ahead of their convention in mid-August. AMNA NAWAZ: Laura Barron-Lopez with a  whirlwind 24 hours in politics and reporting. Laura, thank you. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: Well, although Democratic  support for Harris as the nominee seems   to be solidifying, some in the party  still want to see an open convention. Rep. Doggett We will get two views on this. First up is Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas.  He was the first Democratic lawmaker to call on   President Biden to abandon his reelection bid  and has recently called for an open convention. Congressman Doggett, welcome back to  the "News Hour." Thanks for joining us. REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX):  So good to join you, Amna. AMNA NAWAZ: So you have now seen what's  happened in the last 24 hours. Donors   have come back into the fold. The party  seems to be lining up behind Harris. You   had previously said that a mini-primary of  some kind would be good for the next nominee,   actually help to strengthen that person. Do you still want to see that happen? REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Well, I think  that was the preferable approach. When I called on President Biden to step aside  three weeks ago, it was in favor of a fair,   open and democratic process. But I  must say that the 24 hours we have   just gone through have been pretty  amazing. And there's a question,   if we had such a primary, who else would  be in it besides the vice president? She has in less than 24 hours raised over $100  million. She has secured, as you were just   noting in the broadcast, the endorsement of every  person that I have heard of who was a possible   candidate. And so while I think that process  would have been better, and it would have been   better if we hadn't waited three weeks to get  this to happen, but under these circumstances,   I think it's improbable that we do anything  other than address this at the convention. I do think there was a reference you just made  to the DNC rules that it would be better. And   I was involved last week in the effort to try  to ensure the DNC didn't preempt us by doing   this virtual roll call. It would be better  if the vote was actually at the convention. My concern has been that we not have something  that just appeared to be a handoff or a decision   made here in Washington by elected officials,  but that we engage the whole country. And I think   the way that is happening is one delegation by  state after another is beginning to endorse her. I expect that to happen tonight  in my home state of Texas,   when I participate in the delegation meeting. AMNA NAWAZ: But, Congressman, if there  doesn't seem to be anyone who's going to   step in to challenge her, and it looks like  all the delegates are lining up behind her,   she's not at that number yet, at 1,976,  but she could be in at least an Associated   Press' unofficial survey so far, why wait  until the convention to get this sorted? Does it make sense for her as a potential nominee  to have more time as the presumptive nominee? REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Well, I think if she's  out as the only person seeking the nomination,   it would be pretty clear to  everyone she is our nominee. The convention is the traditional place for doing  this, and with the 50 state roll call and the   territories. And so I think that's probably the  best place to do it in the open way. And I believe   what you're seeing is a tremendous amount of  enthusiasm that was lacking only a few days ago. We lagged for a year behind President  Trump. Now we have a fighting chance   to overcome him. And I think the  enthusiasm, the outreach she will   be doing will really make this convention  an exciting event for people to watch. AMNA NAWAZ: So, Congressman, is that  as close to an endorsement as we're   going to get from you right now? You  haven't outright endorsed her yet. REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Oh... AMNA NAWAZ: Will you? REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Yes, I think it's just a  matter of allowing more than 24 hours to ensure   that there are no other candidates that want to  get into the race. I don't expect there to be any. I expect to do an endorsement, along  with others who have not yet joined,   because we think -- and I have always  thought that she'd be an excellent   nominee. I just felt that it was important  to have a process that allowed any and all   comers who can meet the requirements  of the rules to come and participate. I anticipated that perhaps some would.  She began with such an advantage   with the endorsement of President  Biden that was so firm yesterday,   and then by great work she's done to win  over apparently every possible opponent,   as well as so many other elected officials,  governors, party officials around the country. It speaks very well of her and suggests the kind  of effective campaign that she will be running. AMNA NAWAZ: So tell me more about  that potential campaign here now,   knowing the Republican ticket that she would be  running against with a potential running mate. How do you think she can best run that  campaign? What's the message she needs   to go out with if she's confirmed as the nominee? REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Well, first... AMNA NAWAZ: And who do you think would be a good running mate for her to  help shore up that message? REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: First, she can point to the  accomplishments of the last three-and-a-half   years, significant accomplishments that both  she and President Biden had a big hand in. Second, I think she will point to the issues  that really are touching families these days,   the economic issues and how she will respond  to those, as well as the very important issue   of our freedoms, particularly the  freedom of health care for women,   but the freedom of all of us that could  be suppressed if Donald Trump and his   gang take over our government, having admired  foreign dictators of the type of Viktor Orban,   and seeming to have some affinity  for Hitler and Hitler's generals. That kind of authoritarian approach is quite  a turn from the democracy we have enjoyed,   and that's very much what's at stake.  It'll also be interesting that we have the   youthful candidate now in this race. I believe  President Trump will be the oldest nominee of   any political party in American history, and  our candidate is more of a new generation. And I expect that her vice  presidential candidate will   be a part of that -- nominee will be part of  that. As far as vice presidential selection,   she has so many to choose from. You have  listed several of them, the most prominent. I think the overriding consideration will be  who can help us in those battleground states,   because this is still a very close race, and,  frankly, I think it's an uphill race, where   Donald Trump has the advantage right now, but  we have new tactics that are obviously creating   great challenges for the Republicans, as they  desperately talk of lawsuits and other claims. It's really just an indication that they  don't know how to handle a candidate with   the talent and ability to excite voters  that Vice President Harris represents. AMNA NAWAZ: That is Congressman Lloyd  Doggett of Texas joining us tonight. Congressman, thank you for your time.  Always good to speak with you, sir. REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Thank you so much. AMNA NAWAZ: And now for another  take on the convention process,   I'm joined by California Senator Alex Padilla.  He assumed Vice President Harris' seat in the   Sen. Padilla Senate when she joined the White House,  and he has endorsed her for president. Senator, welcome. Thanks for joining us. SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): Thanks  for having me. Good evening. So AMNA NAWAZ: So, it seems as if the party  has now essentially lined up behind Vice   President Harris. There's some folks we  have heard who are still sort of talking   about a mini primary or open convention  of some kind, but are there any murmurs   you're hearing about anyone who might  step in to challenge her at this point? SEN. ALEX PADILLA: No, not at this point.  And even though there was some chatter   about the possibility yesterday in the  wake of President Biden's announcement,   I didn't really see that happening. You have seen the number, the outpouring of  endorsers and supporters from coast to coast   and everywhere in between. I think it's both  a reflection of the strength of Kamala Harris,   now our soon-to-be-official Democratic  nominee for president of the United States. But, as a Californian, it doesn't come  by any surprise. I have known her,   I have worked with her for a couple of decades  now. If there's one thing about Kamala Harris,   that she is truly a coalition-builder.  It's what you need to be successful in   California. It's what the party and  the country needs at this moment. So I'm thrilled to be on board  and happy to do whatever I can   for the next 106 days to make  sure that we win in November. AMNA NAWAZ: Well, as President Biden endorsed   her to take his place at the top of  the ticket, she issued a statement,   and she said something that stuck out. She said  she intends to earn and win the nomination. What does that earn mean to  you? What does she need to do? SEN. ALEX PADILLA: Yes, well,  I think there's two parts,   first to earn this opportunity because  of her decades of public service,   her tremendous track record, the  values that she brings to the table. And then, near term, yes, this is nothing  to be taken for granted. There is respect   for delegates and Democrats beyond that.  So, we're not talking about this being   January before the primary season. We  have gone through the primary season,   more than 14 million voters voting  for the Biden/Harris ticket. And so while appreciative of President Biden's  service, not just the last two-and-a-half years,   but throughout his career, he has chosen to step  aside, and he has thrown his weight behind Vice   President Harris. The rules of the party are such  that it will be formalized at the convention. And so Vice President Harris, I think, is being  respectful in that, as the reporting has covered.   She's working the phones. She's reaching out  not just to members of Congress on the Hill,   but elected leaders, community  leaders throughout the country,   asking for people's support. People are  enthusiastically offering their support. It'll be formalized at the convention, and we have  a lot of work to do to reach out to voters, make   sure we organize, mobilize, and get out the vote,  because the stakes of this November's election   remains perilously high. The threat of Donald  Trump and MAGA Republicans is worse by the day. AMNA NAWAZ: Senator, we have already seen  the Trump/Vance campaign targeting her   in some political ads, going out with the  messaging to further tie her to the Biden   campaign and seeing that policies that they  see of his as a failure she was also tied to. Could a challenger of some point, at  some point right now, actually inoculate   her from those kinds of attacks to  say that she did go through a process,   there wasn't an anointing of any kind here? SEN. ALEX PADILLA: Yes, no,  look, what I would say is,   again, she's being respectful to the process  outlined by the Democratic National Committee,   being respectful of delegates and other important  voices within the Democratic Party infrastructure. But let's also be real. Let's not let Donald  Trump and MAGA Republicans try to change the   focus here. They're going to try to attack her  because they're misogynistic, they are racist and   worse. They're trying to attack her because  they want to pivot away from their agenda. We just came off of the Republican  National Convention, a week long of   Project 2025 talking points with speaker  after extremist speaker spewing lies,   spewing falsehoods, spewing a radical agenda. When I talk about the stakes  being huge this November,   that's what's at stake. We know what we will  get with the Republicans and Donald Trump,   and nobody wants to go back to the disaster of  his administration. Let's continue their progress   and the leadership of the last two-and-a-half  years under the Biden/Harris administration. But, for the next four years, it'll be a President   Harris and a vice president to  be determined administration. AMNA NAWAZ: So tell me more about  that to be determined. I mean,   if beating Donald Trump is the number one goal  for Democrats right now, which potential running   mate gives a potential President Harris the best  chance to beat that ticket? Who should it be? SEN. ALEX PADILLA: That is a great  question, and a great question for   soon-to-be-Democratic nominee  Vice President Kamala Harris. So I would not dare to suggest who it ought to  be. The great news is that the Democratic Party,   the Democratic family has a lot of tremendous  talent to offer. And I'm sure Vice President   Harris will pick somebody who is a great  governing partner, somebody who will be   prepared to take over on day one if need be, and  somebody who will be out there campaigning hard,   earning the vote of the American public, so  that we indeed are successful in November. AMNA NAWAZ: If she is the nominee, should  voters look at this as a continuation of   a Biden/Harris administration, or does  she need to strike a different direction? SEN. ALEX PADILLA: The --  I think it'll be building   on the success of the Biden/Harris administration. I mean, my God, we have seen a successful  President Biden's three-and-a-half years,   better than any president in recent history,  from the Inflation Reduction Act, reducing   costs for working families, bipartisan  infrastructure package that is not only   modernizing infrastructure across the country, but  creating thousands, millions of good-paying jobs. We have seen -- we came out of a  pandemic. We're tackling climate   change. The CHIPS and Science ACT really  put the United States back in a leadership   position globally when it comes to chips and  semiconductors. And there's more to build on. What I'm eager to hear is the voice of Vice  President Harris, a prosecutor, let's not forget,   up against the voice of Donald Trump, a convicted  felon. Let's take them to task when it comes to   reproductive rights. Let's take them to task  when it comes to voting rights and so much more. It's going to be an exciting campaign,   and I'm looking forward to four more full years  when President Harris is in the White House. AMNA NAWAZ: That is California Senator  Alex Padilla joining us tonight. Senator, thank you for your  time. Good to speak with you. SEN. ALEX PADILLA: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: And let's take a  step back now to delve into   Vice President Harris' record and how  she arrived at this pivotal moment. Harris' Record William Brangham has a look at  her path, from the daughter of   immigrants to the favorite for the  Democratic presidential nominee. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the blink of an eye,   Vice President Kamala Harris went from  being President Biden's biggest defender... KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States  (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: One thing   we know about our President  Joe Biden, he is a fighter. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: ... to the person most likely to   replace him on the presidential  ballot four months from now. Harris securing the nomination would be  historic, the first time a Black woman   leads a major-party ticket. But it would be just  the latest in a career of firsts for Harris,   a politician who rose from district attorney  to state attorney general to U.S. senator. In 2021, she became the first woman and   first Black American and South  Asian American vice president. KAMALA HARRIS: While I may be the first  woman in this office, I will not be the last. KAMALA HARRIS: Because every  little girl watching tonight   sees that this is a country of possibilities. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Harris is the daughter  of immigrants from Oakland, California.   Her mother was a scientist who emigrated  from India to study at U.C. Berkeley. Her   father was from Jamaica and became  a prominent economist at Stanford. In elementary school, Harris was bused from her  predominantly Black neighborhood to a white one,   part of an effort to desegregate local public  schools. She lived in California until she was 12,   when Harris moved with her mother and  sister to Canada. Harris later enrolled   at Howard University, a historically  Black college in Washington, D.C.,   where she studied political science and economics. She then returned to the Bay Area for law  school. And it was in San Francisco where   Harris' political career began. In 2003, she  was elected the city's district attorney. KAMALA HARRIS: To be a prosecutor  is to really be engaged in one of   the most -- noblest professions  that anyone could do and have. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Her career in  law enforcement helped propel   her to higher office, but also has  earned her a good deal of criticism. California's police unions were livid when  she didn't press for the death penalty for   a man who killed a police officer. She also  championed providing a path for some nonviolent   first-time drug offenders to get education and  job training to prevent them from re-offending. KAMALA HARRIS: When we're talking about serious  and violent crime, lock them up. But when we're   talking about nonviolent crime, that is  actually the crime that is occupying the   bulk of our public resources and beds in our  state prison system. And we need to have a   meaningful system to reduce the likelihood  that that revolving door will continue. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2010, Harris was  elected attorney general of California,   overseeing the largest state  Justice Department in the U.S. Harris' office took on predatory  for-profit colleges and also secured a   nearly $20 billion settlement with banks  following the 2008 foreclosure crisis. KAMALA HARRIS: It was imperative that we not   give a blank check of immunity to  the banks for their wrongdoing. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Harris' tenure as attorney  general also coincided with the rise of the   Black Lives Matter movement and the emergence  of criminal justice reform as a major issue. In 2015, Harris didn't take a position  a state law that would have required   independent investigations when police  killed civilians. Harris' office also   tried to prevent nonviolent prisoners from  being released after the U.S. Supreme Court   ruled that California's overcrowded prisons  violated inmate's constitutional rights. At the same time, her office launched   implicit bias training for law  enforcement officers in 2015. KAMALA HARRIS: We have developed and implemented  a policy on implicit bias and racial profiling. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2016, Harris was  elected to the U.S. Senate in a landslide,   becoming only the second Black  woman to serve as a U.S. senator. KAMALA HARRIS: I intend to fight for  truth and transparency and trust. (CHEERING) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As senator, Harris shined in hearings with her pointed  prosecutorial questioning of witnesses,   including Brett Kavanaugh, after he'd  been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. KAMALA HARRIS: Can you think of  any laws that give the government   the power to make decisions about the male body? BRETT KAVANAUGH, U.S. Supreme  Court Associate Justice: I'm   happy to answer a more specific question. KAMALA HARRIS: Male versus female? BRETT KAVANAUGH: There are medical procedures. KAMALA HARRIS: That the government has the  power to make a decision about a man's body? WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2019, with  a growing national profile,   Harris joined the wide field of Democrats who  lined up to challenge President Donald Trump. KAMALA HARRIS: I stand before you today   to announce my candidacy for  president of the United States. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But her bid for the  White House struggled to gain traction,   especially as she faced questions  about her record as a prosecutor. FMR. REP. TULSI GABBARD (HI): She put  over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana   violations and then laughed about it when  she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. FMR. REP. TULSI GABBARD: She blocked evidence  -- she blocked evidence that would have freed   an innocent man from death row until  the courts forced her to do so. And she   fought to keep cash bail system in place. That  impacts poor people in the worst kind of way. KAMALA HARRIS: As the elected attorney  general of California, I did the work of   significantly reforming the criminal justice  system of a state of 40 million people,   which became a national model for the work that  needs to be done. And I am proud of that work. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Harris dropped out of  the race before a single ballot was cast. KAMALA HARRIS: And I will keep fighting every day   for what this campaign has been  about, justice for the people. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Harris eventually endorsed Joe   Biden and was then chosen by  him to be his running mate. KAMALA HARRIS: In this election,  we have a chance to change the   course of history. We're all in this  fight, you, me, and Joe, together. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2020, Biden and  Harris won a contentious election. KAMALA HARRIS: We did it. We did it,   Joe. You're going to be the next  president of the United States. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And as vice president,  Harris' tenure got off to a rocky start.   After being tasked with stemming the  root causes of migration to the U.S.,   Harris' first trip abroad as  V.P. was to Mexico and Guatemala. KAMALA HARRIS: I want to be clear to  folks in this region who are thinking   about making that dangerous trek to the United  States-Mexico border. Do not come. Do not come. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: With increasing numbers of  migrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border,   Harris was criticized for not visiting the region. QUESTION: You haven't been to the border. KAMALA HARRIS: And I haven't  been to Europe. I mean,   I don't understand the point that you're making. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Although Harris later visited  the border, it fed into the perception that   the Biden administration was not doing  enough to curb illegal border crossings. In 2022, Texas' governor, Republican Greg Abbott   bused migrants literally to her  front door in Washington, D.C. GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Kamala Harris was  saying there's no problem on the border. So,   she said the border was secure. And so I felt  the need to be involved in the education process. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the summer of  2022, the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision   overturning the right to abortion  marked a turning point for Harris. She emerged as a fierce advocate for the   administration on abortion rights  and women's rights more broadly. KAMALA HARRIS: Do you not trust women to  know what isn't their own best interest? You,   some legislator in some state capital,  the majority of whom are not women,   are in a better position to  tell her what she should do? WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And with the Senate evenly  split between Democrats and Republicans... KAMALA HARRIS: The Senate being equally divided,   the vice president votes in the affirmative,  and the bill, as amended, is passed. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: ... Harris' tie-breaking vote  was key in many of the Biden administration's   legislative victories, including the  sweeping Inflation Reduction Act,   which was America's most ambitious  effort yet to tackle climate change. Harris also took a leading role in efforts to  reduce gun violence, overseeing the first ever   Office of Gun Violence Prevention. She  spoke with Geoff Bennett last September. GEOFF BENNETT: Absent congressional action,  how will that effort make a significant change? KAMALA HARRIS: Well, congressional action is very  important. There's no question about that. But,   sadly, a lot of folks there  just don't have the courage   to do it. The work that we are doing is  to make sure that we are implementing   all of the executive orders that have  already been implemented and passed. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: With President Biden now out  of the race, the 59-year-old Kamala Harris will   again see her career and record closely  examined as she tries to both unify the   Democratic Party behind her bid and then turn  her sights on defeating the former president. For the PBS "News Hour," I'm William Brangham. AMNA NAWAZ: To discuss the future of the  presidential race now, I'm joined by our Politics   Politics Monday Monday team. That is Amy Walter of The Cook  Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith   of NPR, who joins us from Rehoboth Beach with  the pool of reporters covering President Biden. Great to see you both. So, Amy, you saw there Laura reported earlier  on just the deluge of support from Democratic   lawmakers lining up behind Vice President Harris.  And a lot of the names who'd been previously   floated as potential challengers, Governor Gavin  Newsom of California, Governor Gretchen Whitmer   of Michigan, Transportation Secretary  Pete Buttigieg, have all endorsed her now. AMNA NAWAZ: Why do you think the  party coalesced around her so quickly? AMY WALTER: I think they realized that it was  getting late very quickly. It's not Yogi Berra,   it's getting late early, and that there's  only three weeks until the convention.   We only have four months until Election  Day, and that they had spent three weeks   basically wringing their hands after the June  27 debate about what to do about Joe Biden,   watching their poll numbers really sink very  deeply and downballot candidates really starting   to get incredibly nervous about the impact  of the top of the ticket on their own races. So I think what they saw was that they  needed to line up immediately behind   a different candidate and put all  their effort into making that work. AMNA NAWAZ: And, Tam, we have seen, she's hit  the ground running. Vice President Harris visited   the campaign headquarters earlier today,  addressed the staff. That is now her team. And she delivered this message about how she plans   to take a powerful message directly to  former President Trump. Take a listen. KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States  (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Predators   who abused women,fraudsters who ripped  off consumers, cheaters who broke the   rules for their own gain. So, hear me  when I say, I know Donald Trump's type. AMNA NAWAZ: Tam, there is the  taking on Donald Trump part of this,   and there's also the potentially  shoring up parts of the voting blocs   where President Biden had been weak. What's  the Harris strategy there? Can she do that? TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Already,   young voters are more excited than they were  before. She is a very memeable candidate,   and her videos are all over TikTok,  and young people are excited. You're seeing -- and I will be honest, I can't  fully explain it, but you are seeing coconut   emojis all over the place because of something  she said a year ago that has become a meme. So she is bringing new life to this campaign  for Democrats. As we have talked about many   times before, and even before that very bad  debate that President Biden had, Democrats   had an unease with him. There were worries that he  was too old. Democrats told pollsters. They said   it in focus groups. They said that they hoped  that the party would have another candidate. I don't think many people imagined that it  would happen exactly this way, but this is   what has happened. President Biden had said he  is a big believer in fate. Fate intervened with   that debate, and then the three weeks of just  growing concern and anxiety among Democrats. And you saw it with the fund-raising; $81 million  in the first 24 hours, that is record-breaking   fund-raising coming from small-dollar donors.  These are people -- 60 percent of them were new,   according to the campaign. These were people  who had been holding back, who weren't excited,   and there was some sort of a pent-up demand  among Democrats to show that excitement. She's also certainly reaching out to African  American voters, the Divine Nine Black sororities   and fraternities. There is a well of energy that  exists for Harris and who she is and the history   she could make. Of course, Republicans also  want to tap into that and paint her as extreme. AMNA NAWAZ: So, Amy, from what we know about  why voters had been backing away from the   Biden/Harris campaign in the last several  months, the donor support is one thing,   party officials and lawmakers  lining up behind her is another. Does all of that translate  to the polls? Do we know? AMY WALTER: Well, that is a question. And so just to get a little bit wonky for  one second, but -- I think we have to be   careful not to look at polls taken before  Sunday as indicative of where Kamala Harris   is in terms of her matchup with Donald  Trump or even how people feel about her. Now, they may have answered polls  in which they said, when asked,   what do you think about Kamala Harris being  the president or running up against... AMY WALTER: But they're hypothetical.  In the same way that I could ask you   about something theoretical about  like a meal you're going to have,   but until you actually have it, you can't  really tell me what the experience was. So I think it's going to be an  interesting few weeks as people   start to digest this. And you're right. I  think, at minimum, what it does, though,   it does energize both the donor base and  voter base that has been sort of depressed,   for lack of a better term. So what this does  is, it helps to raise her floor, in other words. Like, if she gets the base back, that's really  good news if you are the Harris campaign.   The challenge is going to be getting  those swing voters onto her side. And   that -- we don't know yet how they  are going to react either to her,   the way she came into this position, and the  fact, remember, she brings -- she does bring   some energy to the Democratic base, but  she carries all the same baggage because,   as we will hear from Republicans, she was  principally sourced to work on the border. She is in the White House when a  whole bunch of other stuff passed,   including the Inflation Reduction Act and  others that they are no doubt going to remind   voters that she can't separate herself from  the actions of the administration as a whole. AMNA NAWAZ: Well, Tam, to that point, we  have already seen Republicans working very   hard to link her to President Biden,  to what they call his failed policies. And if you look at the Republican play,  naming J.D. Vance to the ticket was really   a doubling down on the base, right? And  it's a straight play for that blue wall,   those four states he kept mentioning  over and over again of Michigan,   Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio at  the Republican National Convention. In the world of potential running mates for a  possible Vice -- a possible President Harris   nomination here, nominee here, where do  Dems have the most potential advantage? Who   could help her out most, if needed, against  these Republican -- this Republican ticket? TAMARA KEITH: Well, there are some swing state  Democratic governors who could certainly help,   the governor of Pennsylvania, for instance,  or the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper,   who is someone who is actually quite popular  in a swing state, if you're being generous. Generally, it's been a Republican state,   but he's a Democrat who has won twice with  Trump on the ballot. That is a state that   has been a reach for Democrats and is  something they could be looking for. But I also want to just, like, be  realistic about how important the   vice presidential pick is. We all love to  talk about it. Veepstakes are extremely   fun. And it's great to play those  games and think about scenarios. But, in the end, the president -- the nominee  is running for president. The vice presidential   nominee can only do so much. They can  do harm, but they can only help so much. AMNA NAWAZ: Amy, you agree with that? AMY WALTER: Absolutely. I mean,  it helps around the margins. AMY WALTER: But in an era where everything is  decided by the margins, I think that's important. There's also the question about sending  a message, not just about the candidate,   who they are, where they're from, but what  their age is, what their background is. It   would be a generational shift to pick somebody  like Josh Shapiro, who's in his late 40s,   and having Kamala Harris. It would also sort  of make a Gen X argument for the Democrats,   versus a baby boom presidential  candidate on the Republican side. AMNA NAWAZ: I realize there's still,  Amy, some questions ahead. Obviously,   Democrats have to work out the rules for  the infrastructure moving forward with the   nominating process, but you noted as we began  this conversation, it was three weeks ago that   debate unfolded that led to this whirlwind of  activity we have seen in the last few weeks. And we have basically that exact same time to  go before the Democratic Convention begins. AMY WALTER: Right. AMNA NAWAZ: Is the chaos portion of this election  cycle over, or is there greater uncertainty ahead? AMY WALTER: Yes, I'm never going  to say anything's over now. AMY WALTER: I think we should  feel pretty good about that. But I do think we have to -- as Tam pointed  out, and Laura, the campaign infrastructure   itself seems to be settling into place.  Basically, they're conveying the Biden   campaign to the Harris campaign, but that's  going to be an integration that's going to   take a little bit of time. I'm sure there are  going to be some bumps along the way there. And then Harris has to go out and perform  as a candidate. She hasn't had to do that   as a candidate since she was on the -- well,  not even on the trail in 2020, when they were   sort of campaigning remotely, and then before  that in her failed bid for the nomination. So this is a very different experience that  she is going to have to get up to speed on. AMNA NAWAZ: Different experience  for all of us to cover as well. AMNA NAWAZ: Tam, very quickly,  a couple seconds left. Go ahead. TAMARA KEITH: Yes, I think it's going to be a race   to define Harris between Republicans and the  Trump campaign and Harris and her campaign. AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that is Tamara Keith  and Amy Walter, our Politics Monday team. Always great to see you both. Thank you. AMY WALTER: You're welcome. TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome. Under Scrutiny AMNA NAWAZ: More than a week after the  assassination attempt on former President Trump,   Secret Service Director Kimberly  Cheatle testified before the House   Oversight Committee today. Lawmakers from both  parties were visibly angry with her testimony. It comes as calls for her resignation grow and  the investigations into the agency multiply. Nick Schifrin has our report. REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Committee on Oversight  and Accountability will come to order. NICK SCHIFRIN: During a four-and-a-half-hour  bruising bipartisan blow up... REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): You cut corners  when it came to protecting one of the   most important individuals, most  well-known individuals on the planet. REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): That is not my   question. And now I think  you're evading the answer. NICK SCHIFRIN: Secret Service Director  Kimberly Cheatle was chastened,   but tight-lipped, despite demands  from both parties for her resignation. REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I believe,  Director Cheatle, that you should resign. REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Because Donald Trump  is alive -- and thank God he is -- you look   incompetent. If Donald Trump had been  killed, you would have looked culpable. NICK SCHIFRIN: It's been nine days since  what Cheatle called the Secret Service's   most significant failure in more than 40 years. (GUNSHOTS) NICK SCHIFRIN: Former President Donald Trump, his ear pierced by bullets fired from a  military-style rifle from just 450 feet away. WOMAN: Right here, guy on the roof! NICK SCHIFRIN: Cheatle confirmed  local law enforcement photographed   the shooter 18 minutes before Trump began,   but the Secret Service initially identified  him only as suspicious, rather than a threat. Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi: REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): That doesn't  look like suspicious behavior. That looks like   threatening behavior to me. And the rally  wasn't paused at that point either, correct? KIMBERLY CHEATLE, U.S. Secret Service Director:  I can tell you, as I stated earlier, sir,   that the moment that the shift surrounding the  president were aware of an actual threat... REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI: That's  a threat right there. The guy's   on the roof and everybody's yelling at him. NICK SCHIFRIN: Cheatle confirmed that the  shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks,   used a drone to surveil part of the site and  brought explosives and a detonator. She also   said she apologized to former President  Trump and that the buck stops with her. KIMBERLY CHEATLE: On July 13, we failed. As the  director of the United States Secret Service,   I take full responsibility for  any security lapse of our agency. NICK SCHIFRIN: But she declined to answer  many questions because of multiple ongoing   investigations, including how exactly  Crooks got on the roof with a direct   line of sight of Trump and killed Corey  Comperatore, while he shielded his family. Arizona Republican Andy Biggs: REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): What did they  determine was going to be the event perimeters? KIMBERLY CHEATLE: Again, I don't want to speak  to specifics of the event that took place. REP. ANDY BIGGS: OK, this is a specific. KIMBERLY CHEATLE: I understand. REP. ANDY BIGGS: This is a specific that you ought  to know. As someone who said, the buck stops with   me, I'm going to stay in my job, I'm going to give  the answers to the American people, and I know   what happened, except for you're not going to tell  us. You're not going to tell the American people. NICK SCHIFRIN: She also refused  to answer questions about a topic   multiple Democrats raised, Crooks' legal  access to an AR-15 rifle and to the site. New Mexico Democrat Melanie Stansbury: REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): How did  a 20-year-old young man with access   to a military-style weapon actually  bring it onto an unsecured perimeter   who for days had been planning a mass shooting  event? And I think that, Madam Director, with all   due respect, the answers that we received here in  this hearing today are completely unsatisfactory. NICK SCHIFRIN: Cheatle insisted the Secret  Service approved Trump campaign requests   for security at the rally. But she refused  to say whether the Secret Service rejected   previous requests for additional security,  as confirmed by her spokesman this weekend,   and highlighted by Ohio Republican  and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. REP. JIM JORDAN: Were you guessing  or lying when you said you didn't   turn down requests from President Trump's detail? KIMBERLY CHEATLE: Neither, sir.  And I appreciate the question. REP. JIM JORDAN: Well, what were you doing?  Because those statements don't -- don't jibe. Today, the Secret Service agents  who defended Trump by risking their   own lives were called heroes. Their  boss left the hearing as the villain. REP. JAMES COMER: This committee is not known for  its bipartisan -- its model of bipartisanship.   But I think, today, we came together unanimously  in our disappointment for your lack of answers. NICK SCHIFRIN: For the "PBS  News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin. News Wrap AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines:  Israeli airstrikes tore through buildings   in and around the Southern Gaza City of  Khan Yunis, killing at least 70 people. Medical staff at Nasser Hospital called  the situation out of control. The overall   death toll in Gaza has now surpassed  39,000 people since the war began.   That's according to the Hamas-run Gaza  Health Ministry. Those strikes come as   Israel ordered a new evacuation for  an area near Khan Yunis that it had   designated a humanitarian zone. Israel now  says that Hamas fighters have embed there. Many Palestinians expressed anguish  over being uprooted once again. KHOLOUD AL DADAS, Displaced Gazan (through  translator): We do not know where we are   walking in God's vast land. Every day,  we are displaced. This is the seventh   or eighth time we have been displaced.  While we were sleeping in our homes,   they started shooting at  us, bombing from everywhere. AMNA NAWAZ: Also, today Israel announced  the death of two Israeli hostages. They have   been identified as 76-year-old Alex Dancyg  and Yagev Buchshtab, who was 35. Officials   say they were kidnapped from their homes in  Southern Israel during the October 7 attack. That comes as Prime Minister Benjamin  Netanyahu met with several families   of those held in Gaza before departing  for Washington. He's due to meet with   President Biden this week and has  reportedly requested a meeting with   Donald Trump. Netanyahu will address a  joint session of Congress on Wednesday. A gunman in Croatia killed six people and  wounded half-a-dozen others at a nursing   home today. The shooting took place in the  town of Daruvar in the center of the country.   Officials say the victims were residents  of the home, mostly in their 80s and 90s,   and included the suspect's mother, as well as  an employee. The suspect is in police custody,   and authorities are trying to determine a motive. The country's prime minister said that he was --  quote -- "horrified and dismayed" by the attack. Body camera footage released today shows the  chaotic moments in which a Black woman in   Springfield, Illinois, was shot and killed by  a white sheriff's deputy. Authorities say that   Sonya Massey had called 911 earlier this  month to report a suspected prowler. One   video from the encounter that followed  shows former Sangamon County Sheriff's   Deputy Sean Grayson yelling at her  about moving a pot from the stove. A bit later in the video,  he pulls his gun, she ducks,   and he then fires his pistol at her three  times. Grayson was fired last week. He faces   45 years to life for murder, among other  charges. Grayson has pleaded not guilty. Wildfires and extreme temperatures are wreaking  havoc across large parts of the Western United   States. Almost 11 million Americans are under  an excessive heat warning today. Temperatures   remain high in the Pacific Northwest, where a  number of wildfires are ongoing in places like   Oregon and Washington. Fires are also blazing in  both Northern California and near Los Angeles. In Utah, meanwhile, evacuation orders have  been lifted for a wildfire near Salt Lake City,   but officials warn that residents should remain   ready to evacuate with the fire  only partially under control. Hunter Biden has dropped a lawsuit against  FOX News over the use of explicit images of   him in a streaming series. The complaint  had accused FOX of violating New York's   so-called revenge porn law. The case stemmed  from a fictional FOX Nation miniseries from   2022 that featured graphic images of the  president's son as part of a mock trial. FOX had described the lawsuit as -- quote  -- "entirely politically motivated." The   dismissal notice was filed the  same day that Hunter's father,   President Joe Biden, dropped out of the 2024 race. A court in central Russia has convicted a  Russian-American journalist of spreading   false information about the military in a  rushed and secret trial. Alsu Kurmasheva is   a journalist with the U.S.-funded Radio Free  Europe/Radio Liberty based in Prague. She was   sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison,  which her employer called a mockery of justice. Today, a State Department spokesperson  called for Kurmasheva's release. MATTHEW MILLER, State Department Spokesman:  She is a dedicated journalist who is being   targeted by Russian authorities for  her uncompromising commitment to   speaking the truth and her principled  reporting. Journalism is not a crime. AMNA NAWAZ: Kurmasheva is one of nine  U.S. citizens known to be detained in   Russia. The arrest of Americans  has become increasingly common,   as tensions between the two nations  escalate over the war in Ukraine. On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher, as  tech shares rebounded from last week's losses.   The Dow Jones industrial average gained  more than 100 points to start the week.   The Nasdaq jumped 280 points to close above  18000. The S&P 500 also ended sharply higher. And LeBron James has been selected as the men's  flag-bearer at Friday night's Opening Ceremony at   the Paris Olympics. The NBA's all-time leading  scorer heard the news in London surrounded by   his teammates. Fellow superstar Steph Curry  nominated him. James will be the first U.S.   men's basketball player to carry the flag.  He first appeared at the Olympics in 2004. Team USA's female flag-bearer  is due to be revealed tomorrow. And that is the "News Hour"  for tonight. I'm Amna Nawaz. On behalf of the entire "News Hour"  team, thank you for joining us.