The two top Democrats in Congress stopped short on Monday of endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, even as dozens of lawmakers rapidly lined up behind her. However, the leaders praised her for amassing support from all corners of the party as she seeks to claim the nomination.
One day after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and was endorsing Ms. Harris, the decision by Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, to remain neutral — at least for now — reflected their desire to avoid being seen as dictating the outcome of an extraordinary turn in the presidential contest.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is off to a great start with her promise to pursue the presidential nomination in a manner consistent with the grass roots and transparent process set forth by the Democratic National Committee,” the two, both of New York, said in a joint statement. “She is rapidly picking up support from grass roots delegates from one end of the country to the other. We look forward to meeting in person with Vice President Harris shortly as we collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”
The careful statement was notable at a time when Democratic governors, donors, state party chairs and members of Congress — including Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the influential former speaker — were all quickly lining up to enthusiastically back Ms. Harris’s candidacy.
“Today, 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,” Ms. Pelosi said in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political.”
The dissonance with Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries was driven at least in part by their belief that for leaders who hold great sway with members of Congress, an endorsement would make Ms. Harris’s nomination look more like a coronation than an organic coalescing of a newly energized party, according to people briefed on their thinking who described it on the condition they not be named. Former President Barack Obama has also not endorsed Ms. Harris.
Still, the decision irked some Democrats who wanted them to get on board and fast.
“I could be a nice person and say I’m not frustrated by it, but I am,” said Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “They need to come and get on board.”
Most Democrats are eager to quickly put aside party divisions and dysfunction and unite quickly to work to defeat former President Donald J. Trump. Even without endorsements from top leaders, it is clear where things are trending: Ms. Harris is expected to quickly wrap up the support of the entire Senate Democratic Caucus without Mr. Schumer’s putting his thumb on the scale. In less than 24 hours, there remained fewer than 10 Senate Democrats who had yet to back her.
A quick show of support by a group of governors who had been mentioned as potential challengers to Ms. Harris if Mr. Biden were to exit the race also indicated that Ms. Harris had a clear path to the nomination.
And the announcement by Ms. Pelosi ended a brief but intense period of speculation about whether she would seek to orchestrate a competitive primary following Mr. Biden’s departure from the race.
Before he dropped out, Ms. Pelosi had told her colleagues in the California delegation privately that if Mr. Biden were to do so, she would favor a “competitive” process to choose a nominee over an anointment of Ms. Harris. And she notably did not include any endorsement of the vice president in a statement she released on Sunday applauding Mr. Biden for his leadership and his decision to step aside.
Her full-throated endorsement came as the party was enthusiastically coalescing around Ms. Harris.
In an interview, Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, who endorsed Ms. Harris on Sunday, said that it had been a competitive process so far — the vice president was simply winning it easily.
“The fact that the sitting vice president has lots of structural advantages and is performing at a high level is a good thing and not a controversial one,” Mr. Schatz said. “We have no obligation to look silly or display disunity.”
Mr. Schatz said Mr. Biden’s decision to step down and to endorse his running mate worked like a lightning bolt online to energize a depressed party.
“I thought that the algorithms didn’t permit people to feel hope anymore,” he said.
Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said he was all in for Ms. Harris and was ready to start contrasting her with Mr. Trump.
“It’s going to be a very, very exciting race — a contrast between the past and the future,” he said. “Donald Trump is yesterday’s chaos. Why would we want to go back there?”
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