BIDEN DROPS OUT, ENDORSES HARRIS

• "It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden wrote in the letter posted on his X account announcing his decision.
• "And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term."

Driving the news: Minutes after announcing he was stepping aside as the party's nominee, Biden said in a separate tweet that Harris has his "full support and endorsement" to be the Democratic presidential nominee.

• Biden said he will speak to the nation "later this week in more detail" about his decision.
• Harris released a statement soon after thanking Biden for his leadership. She said she plans to "earn and win" the nomination and would "do everything ... to unite the Democratic Party" and the nation.
• She on Sunday was calling Democratic leaders and elected officials to try to lock down the party's presidential nomination, people familiar with the situation told Axios' Hans Nichols.

State of play: Biden, who has been in Rehoboth, Delaware, since last week recovering from COVID-19, faced intense pressure to withdraw from the race following his shaky debate performance on June 27 against former President Trump.

• After the debate, elected Democrats, donors and allies publicly and privately expressed urgent concerns about the 81-year-old president's candidacy.
• The president participated in a redemption tour following the debate, appearing on major networks and at a NATO news conference and campaign events in key states — though it did not ultimately allay anxieties within his party.

Catch up quick: Biden's campaign had asked for the debate, but his raspy voice, rambling answers and moments of confusion fueled concerns about his age and ability to serve another term. Trump was criticized for telling some 30 lies during the debate and failing to answer questions directly on his plans for a second term.

• Trump, weeks after the debate, survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania that left the suspected shooter and an attendee dead.
• Days later, he appeared triumphant at the Republican National Convention, where party loyalists united around him.

Between the lines: Privately, it had been expected Biden and a group of lifelong loyalists would decide his future in the presidential race, Axios' Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei report.

• This group of internal advisers, which includes family members and long-term political advisers, are the same people who supported his 2020 White House run.

The big picture: Biden, who previously served as vice president under former President Obama, will go down in history as the Democrat who beat Trump in 2020 after COVID devastated the country. He spent more than three decades in the Senate before joining a historic presidential ticket in 2008 and serving as former President Obama's vice president.

• Biden's first wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident just weeks after he was elected to serve in the Senate. His two young sons were injured.
• Biden took his Senate oath of office from the hospital and throughout his career, he commuted by train from Delaware to Washington.
• Biden married first lady Jill Biden in 1977. The couple have a daughter together, Ashley Biden.

During his third presidential bid in 2020, Biden selected as his running mate Harris, the nation's first woman and first Black and South Asian vice president.

• Harris had also mounted a brief Democratic presidential bid in 2020 while serving as a U.S. senator from California. Previously, she was the state's attorney general.

Go deeper: What's next for Democrats, delegates to replace Biden on the ticket

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.