Axios

The Democratic National Committee has confirmed it will hold a "virtual roll call" to select its party's presidential nominee before Aug. 7.

Why it matters: The DNC's timeline will make it exceedingly difficult for anyone other than Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party's ticket.

Top House lawmakers are calling on CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to testify about what caused a global IT outage on Friday and affected roughly 8.5 million Windows devices.

Why it matters: The request is the first congressional action against CrowdStrike over the widespread incident, which caused at least 5,100 flights to be canceled Friday and cost some companies possibly billions in damages.

Sunday's seismic decision from President Biden to end his re-election campaign barely registered across financial markets Monday.

Between the lines: After an initial jolt, investors — and the prediction markets — didn't budge from bets based on former President Trump winning in November.

President Biden made his first public remarks after suspending his campaign for re-election Monday, calling campaign workers in Wilmington, Delaware, just before his Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to visit with them.

Why it matters: Biden's comments will likely throw more weight behind Harris' bid to replace him on the Democratic ticket, and shed light on how he's feeling the day after halting his campaign.

Democrats will now need to nominate another 2024 presidential candidate after President Biden announced on Sunday he would drop out of the race under severe pressure to do so from fellow Democrats.

Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris, who has quickly gained endorsements from Democrats (including Biden) and a significant cash advantage, is in the best position to assume the helm of the party.

Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly trails former President Trump in most recent national polls — similar numbers to President Biden, whom she is on the inside track to replace as Democratic nominee.

The big picture: Harris hasn't had a chance to start campaigning, and some Democrats are confident the polls will improve once she's head-to-head against Trump. For now, the polling suggests she's launching her campaign right around where Biden left off.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign raised $81 million in the first 24 hours of her candidacy — a new presidential donation record — following President Biden's departure from the race.

Why it matters: Harris' stunning influx of funds injects new energy into the race after Democrats saw Biden's path to victory rapidly shrink.

Members of the House Oversight Committee castigated U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Monday over her agency's failure to prevent the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

Why it matters: Cheatle is facing mounting, bipartisan calls to resign and intense scrutiny amid a flurry of probes into the shooting earlier this month that wounded the Republican presidential nominee, left one dead and two others seriously injured.

With Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign kicking off, her team has embraced the potential of memes to break through with a younger, perpetually online demographic.

Why it matters: Harris, 59, offers a dramatic shift for the Democratic party away from an 81-year-old presidential candidate whose age prompted serious questions about his ability to serve as well as attacks from his Republican opponent, former President Trump, who is 78.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is urging its candidates to hit Vice President Kamala Harris for being too liberal, at fault for the border crisis and "weird," according to a memo obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: Republicans are pivoting to their new election playbook that argues Harris could be even better for down-ballot Republicans than President Biden.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) said Monday morning that he would not be running for president in 2024, just hours after seemingly indicating an openness to doing so.

The big picture: President Biden's withdrawal from the race Sunday has opened the floodgates for a new Democratic ticket, though Vice President Kamala Harris has swiftly consolidated party support.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president on Monday.

Why it matters: The speaker emerita helps solidify an emerging consensus around Harris as the clear frontrunner to replace President Biden at the top of the ticket.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she's not leaving her gubernatorial post, even as attention on a theoretical run for vice president persists.

Why it matters: Michigan, which flipped blue voting for President Biden in 2020, is among the Midwest states that have emerged as a key presidential battleground — fueling interest in Whitmer as a national candidate.

If you want to see how quickly markets can react, just take a look at a relevant crypto asset when big news breaks.

Why it matters: The blockchain industry claims it has the tools to better price everything.

• Yesterday, President Biden dropped out of the race for president and threw his support behind his vice president, Kamala Harris.

This chart shows two meme coins on Solana, Kamala Horris (KAMA) and Jeo Boden (BODEN).

Vice President Kamala Harris praised President Biden's "legacy of accomplishment" and "integrity" in her first public remarks since he dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed her.

Why it matters: The brief remarks at a ceremony for NCAA student-athletes come on the first day of Harris' campaign, as she seeks to transition from Biden's deputy to his successor as Democratic nominee and, potentially, as president.

Several top members of House Democratic leadership endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday morning as lawmakers continued to rapidly coalesce around the vice president's bid to lead the ticket.

Why it matters: As Harris continues to pick up support from the top echelons of the party, the path for any any would-be challenger to mount a rival campaign is narrowing.

Less than 24 hours after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 race, the Democratic Party is consolidating around Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's presidential nominee.

Why it matters: Several Democratic heavy hitters who have been floated as possible presidential candidates themselves have now backed the vice president, quickly building momentum for Harris to lock up the party's nomination before next month's convention.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will become America's inaugural first gentleman if Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee and wins in November.

The big picture: A former longtime entertainment and media lawyer, Emhoff's policy focuses since his wife became VP have included combating antisemitism and promoting pro bono legal aid.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron praised President Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election, telling Axios on Monday that the U.S. was "lucky to have him and his team during the past few years."

Why it matters: Macron, speaking at a reception at the Élysée Palace for foreign journalists covering the Summer Olympics, said he hopes Americans follow France in rejecting far-right candidates in the upcoming election.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the second-ranking Senate Democrat, on Monday endorsed Vice President Harris to replace Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

Why it matters: The Durbin endorsement is yet another sign of the party quickly coalescing around Harris, after President Biden left the 2024 race over the weekend.

President Biden raised the profile and ambition of U.S. climate diplomacy relative to previous presidents, starting on his first day in office.

Why it matters: Biden set the stage for diplomatic breakthroughs, though geopolitical developments have complicated their success.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Monday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's presidential nominee after President Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Why it matters: Beshear, a popular two-term governor in a deep-red state, is a rising star in Democratic politics who is considered a potential running mate for Harris, a prospect he signaled he's open to on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday.

President Biden made the most important statement of his political career on social media Sunday, sending traditional media scrambling to confirm and amplify news of his withdrawal from the 2024 race.

Why it matters: His announcement, posted to social media accounts at around 1:46pm ET Sunday, surprised even senior campaign and White House officials. Biden's inner circle guarded the news carefully to avoid leaks.

Donations are pouring in for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday.

The big picture: The Harris campaign said Monday morning that "everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign" since Biden's endorsement.

President Biden's work on climate change is unprecedented — but his record is fragile as he steps aside from seeking a second term.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the world's largest historical carbon emitter and the second-largest today behind China.

In its political platform adopted earlier this month, the Republican Party pledged to implement universal school choice, boost parental rights and promote "patriotic" standards for civics education.

• In other words, under former President Donald Trump, education across the country would look a lot like it does in Florida.

One candidate was shot in the ear — an assassin's bullet putting him inches from death. The other quarantined with COVID — then quit his campaign, reluctantly, abruptly.

• That was just eight days of the wildest and weirdest presidential campaign of our lifetime, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write in a Behind the Curtain column.

Why it matters: America is tossed into tumult unseen since the '60s.

⚡ State of play: Republicans want President Biden to resign now, and for Vice President Harris to be held complicit for concealing his condition.

• Many Democrats want to simply and swiftly coronate Harris, pair her with a swing-state moderate like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and make age and abortion the two preeminent topics of a new 2024 campaign.

President Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Harris for the nomination, as did the Clintons. But the Democratic Party is leaving open the possibility of a competitive nomination process, Mike and Jim write.

• Former President Obama held off on an endorsement, saying: "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead."

Between the lines: As we told you in a column two weeks ago, Harris will be almost impossible to beat for the nomination, thanks to endorsements, money, optics and 2028 politics. Given the Democratic base, are you really going to take down the first Black American, the first South Asian American and the first woman to be elected vice president?

President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Harris wasn't up to taking on Donald Trump, Alex Thompson reports from three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans.

• Why it matters: Biden, 81, ultimately decided to withdraw under pressure from the party and endorsed Harris. But his private anxieties reflect broader questions among some Democratic leaders about Harris as their nominee this November.

This next week will be critical for Harris, 59, to prove doubters wrong as she moves quickly to try to clear the field of potential challengers for the Democratic nomination.

A person familiar with Vice President Harris' day tells reporters she "had multiple phone conversations with the president prior to his announcement that he would not be seeking reelection and would instead endorse her."

• 📱 "Surrounded by family and staff at the Vice President's Residence, she spent more than 10 hours Sunday placing calls to over 100 party leaders, Members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights organizations. On each of those calls, the Vice President made clear that she was extremely grateful for the President's endorsement, but plans to work hard to earn the Democratic nomination in her own right."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who arrives in D.C. today — is landing right in the middle of an unprecedented storm in American politics, Axios' Barak Ravid writes.

• Why it matters: It'll be Netanyahu's first visit to Washington in almost four years, and his first trip abroad since Oct. 7.

Netanyahu wants to use his visit to the White House tomorrow — and his speech to Congress on Wednesday — to rehabilitate both his tarnished image as "the protector of Israel," and his status as the Israeli politician with the most power and influence in the U.S.

A core group of six Democrats has been floated as possible running mates for Vice President Harris if she secures the nomination, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.

• Go deeper: What to know about six big contenders.

MAGA Inc., the main super PAC backing former President Trump, will roll out a new series of digital spots inspired by YouTube TV's "enjoy the Zen" ad breaks.

• Why it matters: The ads — which will run in swing states until Election Day — target counties and metro areas that Trump lost ground in between 2016 and 2020.

Alex Pfeiffer, communications director for MAGA Inc., tells Axios the Democratic Party "is unraveling, chaos is consuming our nation, and war continues to ravage the globe. It doesn't have to be like this."

• The backstory.

One candidate was shot in the ear — an assassin's bullet putting him inches from death. The other quarantined with COVID — then quit his campaign, reluctantly, abruptly.

• That was just eight days of the wildest and weirdest presidential campaign of our lifetime.

Why it matters: America is tossed into tumult unseen since the '60s.

President Biden — who was propelled into office in no small part by his health care agenda — realized Democrats' decades-long dream of allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and came closer to achieving his party's equally elusive goal of universal health coverage than any other Democratic president before him.

Why it matters: As history-making as those achievements were, his health care legacy is a fragile one that could be undone by future administrations, congresses or court decisions, and in some ways is already being overshadowed by rising medical costs that top many Americans' financial concerns.

For the second weekend in a row, there's been a seismic, historic shift in the 2024 presidential race.

If you went off the grid (way off): President Biden announced Sunday that he is stepping aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential contest. Minutes later he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the new nominee, thrusting the party into territory it hasn't seen since the 1960s, with less than a month until its convention.

President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Kamala Harris wasn't up to taking on Donald Trump, according to three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans.

Why it matters: Biden, 81, ultimately decided to withdraw under pressure from the party and endorsed Harris, but his private anxieties reflect broader questions among some Democratic leaders about Harris as their nominee this November.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu arrives in Washington on Monday, right into an unprecedented storm in American politics.

Why it matters: It will be Netanyahu's first visit to Washington in almost four years, and his first trip abroad since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that led to the war in Gaza.

Hunter Biden dropped his lawsuit against Fox News over a a fictionalized miniseries on him that President Biden's son alleged violated New York law by publishing nude photos and videos of him without his consent.

The big picture: Hunter Biden's lawyers filed court papers seeking to have the suit dismissed hours after his father withdrew from the 2024 race Sunday — though it wasn't immediately clear if this had any bearing on the legal action and his representatives did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Vice President Kamala Harris could be moving forward on the path to the Democratic presidential nomination following President Biden's endorsement after dropping out of the race, but questions remain on how she sews up the delegates to make it happen.

The big picture: There is no formal rule-based structure that transfers delegates from one candidate to another ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which starts Aug. 19.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has named a bipartisan panel of experts to conduct an independent review of the Trump rally shooting, the Department of Homeland Security announced Sunday.

The big picture: The panel has "extensive law enforcement and security experience" and will "conduct a 45-day independent review of the planning for and actions taken by the U.S. Secret Service and state and local authorities before, during, and after the rally, and the U.S. Secret Service governing policies and procedures," per a DHS statement.

Joe Biden has dedicated more than half a century to serving in U.S. politics.

The big picture: Since being elected as Delaware's Democratic senator in 1973, he has overcome family tragedy to rise to the highest office, defeating former President Trump in 2020 to become the 46th U.S. president.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday.

Why it matters: It's another big-name endorsement that should boost Harris, after former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed her bid for the Democratic presidential ticket earlier Sunday.