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Election 2024 updates: House GOP leaders want focus on Harris' record, not race

Harris is set to speak at a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority event in Indianapolis today.

Last Updated: July 24, 2024, 1:23 PM EDT

Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing ahead with campaigning for president days after President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

With enough delegates secured to become the presumptive Democratic nominee, Harris held her first presidential campaign rally on Tuesday with another campaign event slated for Wednesday. She's set to deliver a keynote speech at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.'s Grand Boulé in Indianapolis on Wednesday -- a significant moment given that Harris is an HBCU graduate.

9 hours and 45 minutes ago

Harris says Biden will talk about 'extraordinary' accomplishments tonight

Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives at Indianapolis International Airport in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 24, 2024.
Brendan Smialowski/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Harris, addressing the historically Black Zeta Phi Beta Sorority's Grand Boulé in Indianapolis on Wednesday, said President Joe Biden will talk about his decision to abandon his reelection bid and his "extraordinary" accomplishments as president during his planned speech Wednesday night.

"Our president will address the nation about his decision to step down as a candidate, and he will talk about not only the work, the extraordinary work that he has accomplished, but about his work in the next six months," Harris said.

"Joe Biden is a leader with bold vision. He cares about the future. He thinks about the future. He has extraordinary determination and profound compassion for the people of our country. And I say that because I know that we are all deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation," she added.

-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow, and Will McDuffie

10 hours and 49 minutes ago

Harris to speak to Zeta Phi Beta sorority in Indianapolis

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to give remarks to one of the country's largest historically Black sororities in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Zeta Phi Beta is a part of the "Divine Nine" -- a collection of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities.

The event, which the White House announced in early July before Biden dropped out of the race, was scheduled during the same time that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington.

Harris will not be attending Netanyahu's address to Congress later in the afternoon.

-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

10:56 AM EDT

House GOP leaders tell members to attack Harris on her record, not her race or gender

House Republican leaders have privately told their conference to focus their attacks against Harris on her record, sources familiar with the conversation tell ABC News.

It comes after a number of House Republicans made references to Harris' race and gender when asked by reporters about her bid for the White House. Some like Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia went as far as calling her a "DEI Vice President" or "DEI hire."

When House Republicans met behind closed doors on Tuesday, North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, who is a member of House leadership, warned members against making comments about Harris' race including that she's a "DEI pick" and urged the party to focus on her record, per multiple sources in the room.

It's notable coming from Hudson, who is the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talk prior to an address by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,on April 11, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Separately, sources also tell ABC News, Speaker Johnson has also privately told members to focus on drawing a contrast with Harris' record against the "strength" of Trump. Johnson has privately and publicly insisted this has nothing to do with race.

Some moderate Republicans have been frustrated by the comments from others in the party.

One member saying, "pointing out she's not a white man is not a winning campaign message."

-ABC News' Rachel Scott and Jay O'Brien

11:39 PM EDT

Presidents of 2 teacher unions endorse Harris

Ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' speech at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) national convention, AFT President Randi Weingarten and National Education Association President Becky Pringle both endorsed Harris for president.

"Vice President Harris has delivered time and again for students and educators, and educators know we can count on her continued partnership in expanding access to free school meals for students, investing in student mental health, working to ensure no educator has to carry the weight of crushing student debt and, doing everything possible to keep our communities and schools safe," Pringle said in a statement Tuesday.

Harris is expected to give a keynote address this week at the AFT convention in Houston, on Thursday. She will be speaking to the nation's largest teachers union at their 88th annual gathering.

ABC News' Arthur Jones II