Ex-House Speaker Pelosi endorses Harris for Democratic nomination

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came out Monday with a full-throated endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

"It is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country's future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political," she said in a statement.

"In the Democratic Party, our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power. Now, we must unify and charge forward to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and enthusiastically elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States. Onward to victory!" she added.

Pelosi is the fifth senior Democrat to come out in support of Harris' bid after U.S. President Joe Biden abruptly announced Sunday that he is dropping out of the 2024 White House race, endorsing his vice president for the official nod.

Biden had for a month resisted a growing chorus of Democratic calls for him to end his re-election campaign following a disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump in June.

His endorsement does not automatically make Harris the nominee. The Democratic National Committee is now in the midst of deciding how the party will choose its nominee -- either via a virtual vote, or by holding a contest during the Aug. 19-21 convention in Chicago in what would be known as an "open" convention.

Few potential competitors remain for the nomination, however, leaving Harris with an all-but-clear path to the nod.

The committee's rule-making body is slated to meet this week to decide on the path forward.