Prominent House Democrats call for Biden to exit 2024 race

Top congressional Democrats have met to discuss their concerns about the president and opened a wide crack in Joe Biden’s wall of support, bringing the number of House Democrats’ calling for him to step aside to about 10.

US President Joe Biden gives children stuffed animal toys, modelled after the Biden family dog Commander, during a campaign stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. Picture: AFP

President Biden faced new calls from prominent Democrats to exit from the race just days after he vowed to continue his campaign and prove to Americans he was up to the job, as pressure continued to build on the president over his fitness for the White House.

In a meeting of senior House Democrats, several attendees said Sunday that they believed Biden should step aside, according to people familiar with the matter. The members included top lawmakers on major committees including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Joe Morelle of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Jim Himes of Connecticut and Mark Takano of California.

The developments opened a wide crack in Biden’s wall of support, bringing the number of House Democrats’ calling for him to step aside to about 10. They included the top Democrats on the Judiciary, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. The defections cast further doubts on Biden’s path forward, even as he controls his own fate thanks to sweeping the Democratic presidential primaries.

Biden is bleeding support among Democrats and donors, despite the president’s pledge to remain in the race, following a disastrous June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump. While Vice President Kamala Harris has the clearest path to step up if Biden withdraws from the election, dissenting Democrats haven’t coalesced around a plan to pick a replacement nominee, and several said Sunday that talk of a fill-in nominee was premature.

Other Democrats have rallied around Biden. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D., Fla.) said Sunday that “any ‘leader’ calling for President Biden to drop out needs to get their priorities straight and stop undermining this incredible actual leader who has delivered real results for our country.” The Democratic National Convention is in Chicago in August, when the party is set to formally name Biden as its nominee for president.

Biden spent the day crisscrossing the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, working to shore up support and show off his retail politicking skills. Gone were the teleprompters, but the president only spoke briefly at several events in the state.

Biden sought to rally supporters at events in Pennsylvania on Sunday, joined by top Democratic officials including Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, amid pressure to prove he has what it takes to win this fall. The day was designed to show off the 81-year-old president’s retail campaigning touch, continuing a string of appearances that included campaign remarks and a TV interview on Friday, in which Biden gave forceful remarks but did little to allay allies’ fears about his fitness.

Biden traveled by helicopter from Delaware to Philadelphia, and then he and Casey, a longtime ally, rode together in the presidential limousine Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ.

Joe Biden stands with Bishop Ernest Morris during a prayer at a campaign stop at Mt Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Biden received a warm welcome at the church, where Pastor Louis J. Felton led the congregation in saying, “We love President Biden.” He made several references to the president’s debate performance and his age, calling on God to “renew his health.” The president stood while the choir sang, lifting his arms toward the ceiling at times and other times keeping them folded before him. “We’re all imperfect beings,” Biden said, addressing the largely Black congregation with written notes, but no teleprompter. “We don’t know what fate will deliver to us and when.” Later, at an outdoor meeting with supporters in Harrisburg, Biden moved gingerly as he shared the spotlight with other Democrats, giving just brief remarks. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his own Senate campaign in 2022, offered strong support for Biden during the day, referencing his own bad debate as he pressed the audience to see Biden as the only candidate with a record of defeating Trump.

Congress returns to work this week, with a full meeting of the House Democratic caucus expected on Tuesday. House Democrats are set to meet on Tuesday morning and Biden’s future at the top of the ticket is expected to be a main part of the discussion, according to multiple people.

Senate Democrats publicly remain in Biden’s corner, though they have expressed their own concerns. Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) has begun reaching out to other Democratic senators to discuss Biden’s future, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The upheaval comes as leaders of North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries are preparing to come to Washington for a summit that was intended as a celebration of America’s efforts to strengthen the alliance. Biden’s advisers had hoped that it would be a chance to showcase him as leading not just the country but also the world. Instead foreign ministries have been besieged with questions about Biden’s fitness and their private interactions with him.

Democrats expressed caution on the Sunday shows and pressed Biden to reopen the question of whether he should stick with the campaign.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) said Biden needs to speak with people he trusts outside his immediate family and staff and reach a decision on whether he should “run or pass the torch.”

Biden “should seek out people with some distance and objectivity. He should seek out pollsters who are not his own pollsters. He should take a moment to make the best-informed judgment,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D., Mich.) said that constituents and fellow Democrats had differing opinions on Biden. “I’m hearing lots of things. So I think this is not as clear-cut as anybody wants it to be,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” She said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) has done an “outstanding job” this past week listening to members and trying to get a sense of where they stand.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) stressed the importance of Biden proving his fitness, saying that “this can’t be a business-as-usual week” for the president and that he needs to speak to voters in an unscripted way to show he is up to the job. “I just think that the clock is ticking,” he said on CNN.

On Saturday, a Minnesota Democrat from a competitive district became the fifth member of Congress to call publicly on Biden to end his 2024 re-election bid. “I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” said Rep. Angie Craig (D., Minn.) in a statement Saturday.

Biden spoke on Friday at an election rally in Madison, Wis., and gave a roughly 20-minute “ABC News” interview in which he said he would stay in the race and played down recent polls that showed him falling further behind Trump. Asked in the “ABC News” interview what it would take to get him to step aside, Biden said he would only do so if the “Lord almighty” asked him to withdraw.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Biden was in denial about his condition. “Most Democrats are worried about Biden winning the election, ” Graham said. “I’m worried about Biden being the commander in chief for the next four months.” The Biden campaign drew scrutiny after two radio hosts said the campaign had suggested the questions that they then asked Biden on their shows. A person familiar with the matter said the campaign will no longer offer suggested questions.

The Wall Street Journal