Harris scrambles to lock up White House bid as Trump campaign pivots

What is certain is that Biden's withdrawal has again reshaped a White House contest shaken repeatedly during the last month

Then vice president Joe Biden administers the Senate oath of office to then Senator Kamala Harris as her husband, Douglas Emhoff, holds the Bible during a mock swearing in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 3, 2017. Picture: AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

US vice president Kamala Harris was moving swiftly on Monday to try to lock up the Democratic presidential nomination, the day after President Joe Biden, 81, abandoned his reelection bid in the face of growing opposition by his own party.

Harris, 59, was due to speak at the White House at 11:30am ET (3.30pm Irish time) on Monday. Campaign officials and allies have already made hundreds of calls on her behalf, urging delegates to next month's Democratic Party convention to join in nominating her for president in the November 5 election against Republican Donald Trump.