Obama Has Been in Touch With Harris and Is Expected to Endorse Her Soon

Former President Barack Obama has been in regular touch with Vice President Kamala Harris since she emerged as the likely Democratic nominee to share his experiences — and is expected to endorse her soon, according to people familiar with the situation.

Mr. Obama’s name had been notably absent from the succession of top Democrats lining up to support Ms. Harris after President Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday. But Mr. Obama has been active behind the scenes, serving as a sounding board to Ms. Harris and checking in with former aides who he thinks can help her cause, they said.

The former president had been reluctant to endorse Ms. Harris too quickly to avoid the perception that he was overseeing her coronation, but also to give his friend and former running mate Mr. Biden time to process his wrenching decision to step aside.

Mr. Obama has told people close to him that he has been impressed with the start of Ms. Harris’s campaign and amused by a spate of stories claiming that he was holding out because he had doubts about Ms. Harris, whom he has known for two decades.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their private conversations.

It is not clear if Mr. Obama has spoken to Mr. Biden since Sunday, but the two men had been communicating regularly in the weeks leading up to Mr. Biden’s decision, which he made after veteran Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pressured him to quit after a catastrophic debate performance last month.

Mr. Obama’s feelings about Mr. Biden’s capacity to run for re-election remain opaque. But some people close to Mr. Biden bitterly resent the role that vocal former Obama aides played in trying to force him out.

Mr. Obama’s