Five more House Democrats join growing chorus of lawmakers urging President Biden to step aside, citing concerns over his age and fitness for office.
Five more House Democrats on Friday joined the growing number of congressional lawmakers who have called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 election. In a joint statement, Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, Chuy Garcia, D-Illinois and Marc Pocan, D-Wisc., urged Biden to "pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders."
Veasey is the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group that has strongly backed Biden, to call for the president to step aside.
Democratic Calls Intensify for Biden to Drop Out of 2024 Election
"Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders," the lawmakers wrote.
They expressed their belief that Biden's age and fitness concerns are jeopardizing his chances of winning re-election and called on him to step aside as the nominee while continuing to lead the party from the White House.
Democratic Calls Intensify for Biden to Drop Out of 2024 Election
In addition to the five House Democrats, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., also called on Biden to suspend his presidential campaign on Friday, becoming the third Democratic senator to do so.
There are now 28 Congressional Democrats who have called on Biden to step aside. That number represents more than 10% of elected Democrats in Congress.
Democratic Calls Intensify for Biden to Drop Out of 2024 Election
Behind the scenes, more and more Democratic party officials, top donors, and key Biden allies are reportedly urging the president to reconsider his decision to stay in the race.
Should Biden drop out ahead of the Democratic National Committee convention in August, Vice President Kamala Harris is acknowledged to be in the best position to receive the party's nomination. However, some Democrats fear she would also lose to Trump and prefer that a candidate unaffiliated with the current administration be nominated in an open convention.
Democratic Calls Intensify for Biden to Drop Out of 2024 Election
Biden has made no public indication that he intends to step aside, and his campaign has forcefully denied all suggestions to the contrary.
"Absolutely the president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and again," Biden Campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"I’m not here to say this hasn’t been a tough several weeks for the campaign, there’s no doubt that it has been, and we’ve definitely seen some slippage in support. But it has been a small movement."
The growing calls for Biden to step aside come amid declining approval ratings and concerns about his age and fitness for office. A recent poll by ABC News/Washington Post found that only 37% of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as president, while 56% disapprove. The poll also found that 62% of Americans believe Biden is too old to be president.
Despite the challenges, Biden has maintained that he intends to run for re-election in 2024. However, the growing pressure from within his own party may force him to reconsider.
