Harris is sole candidate for Democratic nomination

Virtual convention ballot to start on August 1

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 31, 2024:

• Acting Secret Service chief tussles with Senators.

• No surprises in Arizona primaries.

• Time running out for Menendez.

---

DEMOCRATS. Just nine days after President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 race for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris is fully in control of her party. National Democrats last night announced that only Harris had qualified for the party's presidential nomination ballot, as a virtual roll call vote will start on Thursday to confirm her as the official Democratic Party nominee for 2024.

• DELEGATES. 3,923 delegates backed Harris as their party's candidate, as no one else gathered 300 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Democrats plan to wrap up the virtual vote to approve Harris by next Monday - just about the time she's expected to announce her choice for a running mate.

• HARRIS. Those developments came just a few hours after Harris electrified a campaign rally in Atlanta, jabbing at Donald Trump. "Donald, I do hope you'll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage," Harris said. "Because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face."

VIBE CHECK. Here in the hallways of the Capitol, the change in fortunes still seems absolutely nutty. A few weeks ago, Democrats were giving terse answers about their support for President Biden, fearing a November blowout. Now with Harris leading the way, Democrats are oozing with confidence.

• WARNOCK. "My phone has been blowing up over the last few days," said a smiling Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who flew back to Atlanta for the Harris rally. Warnock drew big cheers by reminding the crowd of how Trump tried to overturn Biden's 2020 win there. "Donald Trump tried to steal your vote. Kamala Harris is trying to earn your vote," Warnock said.

• OSSOFF. Fellow Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) also joined in taunting Trump for getting cold feet about a debate. "Donald Trump is too scared to debate the Vice President," Ossoff said, as the crowd chanted 'Too scared!' "The candidate dodging debates is the candidate who is losing," Ossoff declared.

• RUNNING MATE. It still seems like the most logical V.P. pick for Harris is Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. It's a super important state in November and Shapiro is very popular at home in the Keystone State. My guess is the announcement will be made by Sunday or Monday.

---

WORD WORLD. Maybe the strangest thing to watch in recent days has been Democrats attacking Trump, his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and the GOP in general - by calling them 'weird.' That word might seem sort of odd to use in a political attack. But ‘weird’ has clearly caught on as almost a rallying cry among Democrats of all stripes.

• WEIRD. "Your candidate’s idea to strip the vote away from people without kids is weird," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). "In an election of weird versus normal, let’s choose normal," added Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH).

• COUNTRY ROADS. Even Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) - who is no longer a registered Democrat - was using the line when asked about JD Vance attacking people who don’t have kids. "That's just a very weird position to take," Manchin said.

• MOMENTUM. Clearly, Democrats have momentum right now. "It's a new election, close and competitive," said Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, as suddenly young people and Democratic voters who weren't thrilled by Biden are excited as they can be about Harris. It was the exact opposite two weeks ago.

---

TRUMP. After calling Harris a 'bum' earlier this week, Donald Trump on Tuesday kept up a steady stream of insults against Harris and her husband. In an interview, Trump said Harris - who is married to a Jewish man, "doesn't like Jewish people." Trump then seemed to agree with his host, who suggested that Harris's husband was a 'crappy Jew.'

• KEYSTONE. Over a week after President Biden got off the Democratic ticket, Republicans still seem flat-footed when it comes to Harris. We'll see if Trump has anything new up his sleeve when he holds a rally tonight in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - a key battleground for November.

---

TRUMP ATTACK. Most of us would not want to be the Acting Director of the Secret Service right now. Not only does Ronald Rowe face the immense pressure of detailing what went wrong at a July 13 rally where a gunman came close to killing former President Trump, but Senators made clear yesterday they didn't think some of Rowe's answers at a hearing were on the level.

• INFO. "Acting Director Rowe, some of what you have said today conflicts with information and accounts that we have received from local law enforcement that we've had the opportunity to talk with," said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).

• AGENTS. Peters also bluntly demanded immediate interviews with individual agents who were on the ground in Pennsylvania on July 13. "Those interviews can't start weeks from now or months from now."

• TESTIMONY. In his appearance before a pair of Senate committees on Tuesday, Rowe said he was 'ashamed' that a roof of a building with a clear view of Trump had not been secured. But the new Secret Service chief didn't really give Senators a clear answer on who was at fault for that security lapse.

• CLASH. "I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured," Rowe said, as several times, Rowe found himself sharply clashing with GOP Senators, who were in no mood to give him a pass.

• LETTER. GOP Senators brought up an internal Secret Service email which demanded that heads roll inside the agency. "I'm not stopping until 5 high level supervisors are either fired or removed from their current positions," it stated. "This agency NEEDS to change."

---

MOTIVE. Not much has changed in the investigation, as the feds still have no real clues on why the shooter attacked the Trump rally on July 13. "Thus far, though absolutely nothing has been ruled out, the investigation has not identified a motive nor any co-conspirators or others with advance knowledge," said Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate.

• TRUMP'S EAR. Asked about the injuries suffered by Trump, Abbate tried to do a little more cleanup on an answer given last week by his boss, saying it was a bullet. "There is absolutely no doubt in the FBI's mind whether former President Trump was hit with a bullet and wounded in the ear," Abbate said.

• LAST WEEK. But last week, there was doubt - as FBI Director Christopher Wray said it was an open question as to how Trump was injured, leaving open the possibility of shrapnel or debris. Evidently that got fixed in six days.

• LLOYD BENTSEN. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) then took Abbate through a series of questions, asking him if Trump had been injured by a space laser, a murder hornet, or Sasquatch. "No, Senator," Abbate said. (I’m not kidding.)

---

ARIZONA PRIMARY. No incumbents lost any sleep in Arizona yesterday in primaries for the U.S. House and Senate. But the leading GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, Republican Kari Lake, didn't exactly have a blowout win in her primary. She outdistanced Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, 53-41 percent. It's a win - but not a landslide.

• CANDIDATE QUALITY. Lake will face Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) to see who replaces retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Gallego will be the slight favorite in November, and his fortunes will certainly improve as long as poll numbers edge up for Vice President Kamala Harris as well.

---

ONLINE SAFETY. The Senate voted 91-3 yesterday to approve a pair of bills which are designed to force big tech companies to provide more safeguards for kids to protect them from harmful online content. The effort has been championed by parents whose kids suffered from bullying or other harmful online actions.

• THREE. The trio of Senators voting against these bills were Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). The next stop for this effort is the House, where it's not clear if GOP leaders will move on the issue. Maybe it could happen in a lame duck session. Stay tuned.

---

MENENDEZ. There are two voting days left this week before the Senate takes an extended summer break. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) still hasn't been seen on Capitol Hill since May, and the assumption is that he won't show up this week either. In the aftermath of his bribery and corruption conviction, Menendez has said he will resign effective August 20.

• NAME CHANGE. Those guilty verdicts were too much for one school district in New Jersey, which will wipe Sen. Menendez’s name off an elementary school. It will go back to just being named PS-3.

---

BELLA LUNA. Some weird video surfaced yesterday from back in 2019, showing now Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) verbally harassing then Sen. Kamala Harris at the airport in D.C. My only reaction to stuff like this is, why? Why would you do this?

• REMINDER. But then it made sense, because this clip totally reminded me of another 2019 video, where now Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was verbally harassing gun control activist David Hogg - a survivor of a mass school shooting - as he was lobbying on Capitol Hill.

---

PROTESTS. I often wish I had more time just to walk around Capitol Hill and check out the different groups who come to the Capitol to protest and make their voice heard - as many don’t get any significant press coverage. I saw two of those types of events on Tuesday morning while heading into the Capitol.

• CEASE FIRE NOW. First, there was a group of demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and protesting Israeli military action there. "JEWS SAY STOP ARMING ISRAEL," was the message on red shirts worn by some of those attending, as they rallied in a park across from the Capitol.

• CIUDADANÍA PARA TODOS. While watching some of the Gaza event, I suddenly heard a big cheer. What was that? Well, down the block, there were pro-immigrant demonstrators holding their own march, as they took their cause from the Capitol to the U.S. Supreme Court.

---

RAP SHEET. A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to felony charges related to his actions on Jan. 6. Charles Himber joined other rioters in forcing their way past police officers and into the Capitol through the giant Rotunda doors. When interviewed by FBI agents, Himber denied being inside the Capitol. Photos and video showed otherwise.

---

MUSE OF HISTORY.  July 31, 1953.  On this date, the Senate was stunned by breaking news.  "The sad news has just come over the wire of the death of my colleague, the able leader of the majority," said Sen. John Bricker of Ohio, referring to his GOP colleague, Sen. Bob Taft.  President Eisenhower called Taft’s death a 'tragic loss.'  On the House floor, members stood in silence to honor Taft, who helped bring back the GOP after the Great Depression.

---

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on September 9.

The Senate convenes at 11 am.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a cup of coffee.