MINNEAPOLIS — Key progressive and member of “The Squad,” Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, endorsed Kamala Harris for president Sunday after President Biden announced he was 2024 presidential race abandoned.
In a message posted on X, Omar thanked Mr Biden for his work over the past three and a half years as president.
“This was the President’s decision and I am grateful for his years of service to our country,” Omar wrote. “I am thrilled to endorse (Kamala Harris) as the Democratic nominee and remain committed to working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Omar has continued to support Mr Biden as a handful of Democrats have called on him to drop out of the race. the day after the debate last month.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, another member of The Squad, also endorsed Harris on X. Pressley previously said Democrats were “losing the plot” in their attempts to oust Biden.
The Squad’s two other founding members, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have not made public statements about the president’s decision to withdraw from the election.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram Live to discuss her thoughts on whether Biden should drop out of the race, calling into question the viability of replacing the president at this late point in the election cycle.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has criticized Mr. Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas and urged people to vote against him in the Michigan primary. Last fall, lawmakers voted for censor it for her comments on the war. In response, Omar delivered a speech in support of Tlaib and accused those who voted to censure her of turning a blind eye to the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.
The Squad is an informal group of left-leaning, progressive Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives, initially consisting of four women: Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Tlaib.
