Harris says she won't run for governor of California
"I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor. I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I've decided that I will not run for Governor in this election," she said in a statement.
Harris said she would not run for office now, leaving the door open for a possible presidential bid in 2028 after unsuccessful bids in 2020 and 2024.
"For now, my leadership - and public service - will not be in elected office. I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans," she said.
Harris has kept a relatively low profile since losing the presidential election to Republican Donald Trump in 2024.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has held the post since 2019, cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
Other high-profile Democrats have announced their candidacy including Xavier Becerra, who served as health and human services director under former president Joe Biden and former US representative Katie Porter.
with AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Trump fires jobs data commissioner after dismal report
US President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." After his post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. "I support the president's decision to replace Biden's commissioner and ensure the American people can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS," Chavez-DeRemer said. Friday's jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in July and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants. Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent. "No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump wrote. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes." The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 per cent lower Friday. While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Luxury prison': Epstein accomplice Maxwell quietly moved to low-security camp
The assignment to the Bryan camp was a big lifestyle upgrade for Maxwell, he said. The family of Virginia Giuffre – the American-Australian woman who was among Epstein's most well-known sex-trafficking accusers – said in a statement that Maxwell's transfer reflected 'the justice system failing victims right before our eyes'. Giuffre died by suicide on April 25 this year at her farm in Neergabby, north of Perth, aged 41. 'It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received,' her family said in a statement – reported by The Washington Post – that was also signed by other women who said they were victims of Epstein and Maxwell. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum-security luxury prison in Texas.' Loading The prison camp is about 150 kilometres north-west of Houston on about 15 hectares of land. It held about 650 women, AP reported in 2023. According to a 2016 FPC Bryan inmate handbook, those eligible to work could earn up to $US1.15 ($1.78) an hour in their job assignments, which include food service roles and factory employment operated by Federal Prison Industries. There, Maxwell will be surrounded by women serving shorter sentences and considered less likely to be violent or have gang affiliations. Camp inmates are assigned to dormitory-style housing and have considerable freedom to move around within the facility, according to Paperny, who said he had advised Shah. Giuffre, who had accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. Andrew has always denied those claims; the two reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022, and he was stripped of royal duties. Loading Earlier this week, her family had expressed shock at hearing US President Donald Trump say that Epstein 'stole' Giuffre and other young women from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida – and urged that Maxwell remain in prison. 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago,' the family's earlier statement said. 'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.' Prosecutors have said Epstein's sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a presidential pardon. They have also asked the US Supreme Court to take up her case. Trump said on Friday night Washington time (Saturday AEST) that no one had asked him about clemency for Maxwell. 'I'm allowed to do it but nobody's asked me to do it,' he told Newsmax in an interview. 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.' Maxwell's case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department's statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Loading The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's base who had hoped to see proof of a government cover-up. Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts. Maxwell was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with her. Maxwell's lawyers have said they would be open to an interview, but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution. In a letter on Friday to Maxwell's lawyers, Representative James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September. Loading Comer wrote that while Maxwell's testimony was 'vital' to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance. AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
‘Luxury prison': Epstein accomplice Maxwell quietly moved to low-security camp
The assignment to the Bryan camp was a big lifestyle upgrade for Maxwell, he said. The family of Virginia Giuffre – the American-Australian woman who was among Epstein's most well-known sex-trafficking accusers – said in a statement that Maxwell's transfer reflected 'the justice system failing victims right before our eyes'. Giuffre died by suicide on April 25 this year at her farm in Neergabby, north of Perth, aged 41. 'It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received,' her family said in a statement – reported by The Washington Post – that was also signed by other women who said they were victims of Epstein and Maxwell. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum-security luxury prison in Texas.' Loading The prison camp is about 150 kilometres north-west of Houston on about 15 hectares of land. It held about 650 women, AP reported in 2023. According to a 2016 FPC Bryan inmate handbook, those eligible to work could earn up to $US1.15 ($1.78) an hour in their job assignments, which include food service roles and factory employment operated by Federal Prison Industries. There, Maxwell will be surrounded by women serving shorter sentences and considered less likely to be violent or have gang affiliations. Camp inmates are assigned to dormitory-style housing and have considerable freedom to move around within the facility, according to Paperny, who said he had advised Shah. Giuffre, who had accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. Andrew has always denied those claims; the two reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022, and he was stripped of royal duties. Loading Earlier this week, her family had expressed shock at hearing US President Donald Trump say that Epstein 'stole' Giuffre and other young women from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida – and urged that Maxwell remain in prison. 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago,' the family's earlier statement said. 'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.' Prosecutors have said Epstein's sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a presidential pardon. They have also asked the US Supreme Court to take up her case. Trump said on Friday night Washington time (Saturday AEST) that no one had asked him about clemency for Maxwell. 'I'm allowed to do it but nobody's asked me to do it,' he told Newsmax in an interview. 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.' Maxwell's case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department's statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Loading The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's base who had hoped to see proof of a government cover-up. Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts. Maxwell was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with her. Maxwell's lawyers have said they would be open to an interview, but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution. In a letter on Friday to Maxwell's lawyers, Representative James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September. Loading Comer wrote that while Maxwell's testimony was 'vital' to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance. AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
