By Adam Nagourney and Michael Luo updated 2 minutes ago NEW YORK - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is moving to suspend her campaign and endorse Senator Barack Obama on Friday after Democratic members of Congress urged her on Wednesday to leave the race and allow the party to unite around Mr. Obama, according to a senior adviser to Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Clinton is likely to make the announcement in New York City, an aide said, although no final venue has been chosen. Her decision came after a day of telephone conversations with supporters on Capital Hill about what she should do now that Mr. Obama has claimed enough delegates to secure the nomination. Mrs. Clinton had initially said she wanted to wait before making any decision, but her aides said that in conversations, some of her closest supporters said it was urgent that she step aside.

'To the end' We pledged to support her to the end said Representative Charles W. Rangel, a New York Democrat who has been a patron of Mrs. Clinton since she first ran for the Senate. Our problem is not being able to determine when the hell the end is.At the same time, some of Mrs. Clintons most prominent supporters including Democrats who had held back their endorsements until the primaries were over announced they were now backing Mr. Obama. I was for Hillary I wasn't against Obama, who I think is very talented,said Walter F. Mondale, the former vice president.I'm glad we made a decision and I hope we can unite our party and move forward.Video Clinton open to being VP June 3: Hillary Clinton says she is open to being Barack Obama's vice president. MSNBC reports. MSNBC Earlier Wednesday, a group of top Democratic leaders asked all of the party's uncommitted superdelegates, the officials and party leaders who get automatic convention seats, to make their preferences known by Friday. While the group of leaders including the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean; the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi; the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid; and Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia did not formally endorse Mr. Obama or urge Mrs. Clinton to exit the race, they said in a joint statement: Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. Facing a fall campaign against Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, these Democratic leaders stressed that the party needed to stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country.Other party leaders began to coalesce behind Mr. Obama, including Representative Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, a former aide in the Clinton White House but also a close friend of Mr. Obama. 'He is the nominee'Look, I've known him for years, and I said that as the election came to an end, I would make my endorsement, come from underneath the desk and I did that,Mr. Emanuel said. The fact is, he is the nominee.Some of Mrs. Clintons supporters urged Mr. Obama to take the senator on as his running mate. Robert L. Johnson, a prominent Clinton backer and the founder of Black Entertainment Television, said Wednesday on the CNN program .American Morning that he planned to enlist members of the Congressional Black Caucus to push Mr. Obama to accept Mrs. Clinton as his vice presidential nominee. He said Mrs. Clinton had not directed his efforts, but was aware of them. Lanny Davis, who was an aide in the Clinton White House, said he was circulating a petition asking Mr. Obama to pick Mrs. Clinton as his running mate. Mr. Davis said he was acting on his own. More from New York Times NYT: Obama looks to tap Clinton fundraisers NYT: Obama calm in the swirl of history NYT: Louisiana's possible champion of the right On a conference call with members of the New York Congressional delegation on Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton was asked whether she would be open to joining a ticket headed by Mr. Obama. She replied, according to some who were on the call, that if he offered the vice presidential nod, she would accept, and would do whatever she could to help Democrats win the White House. Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign chairman, however, insisted Wednesday on CNN that there had been absolutely zero discussion about whether she would accept a vice presidential nomination. Mr. McAuliffe said that Mrs. Clinton, whose speech on Tuesday night in New York was more defiant than conciliatory, wanted to talk things over with her supporters on Wednesday. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton spoke by telephone just after midnight on Wednesday. He congratulated her and renewed his offer to sit down when it makes sense for you,according to a spokesman for Mr. Obama, Robert Gibbs. Mrs. Clinton responded positively, Mr. Gibbs said, but he added there were no immediate plans to meet. Thankyou Senator for your Camapaign and we look forward to your endorsement and support of Senator Obama.