More Democrats join wave of lawmakers calling on Biden to drop out of 2024 race

Washington — Nine more House Democrats and two Democratic senators have joined the growing ranks of their colleagues urging President Biden to drop his reelection bid, as the pressure campaign against the president shows no sign of subsiding weeks after his disastrous performance in last month's presidential debate.

Four House members — Reps. Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas, Chuy Garcia of Illinois and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin — issued a joint statement Friday calling on Mr. Biden to "pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders." 

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is expected to face a tough reelection fight, became the fourth senator to call on Biden to withdraw, said in a statement Friday evening that "I think the President should end his campaign."

Earlier in the day, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico also urge Mr. Biden withdraw from the campaign. They were also joined Friday by Reps. Greg Landsman of Ohio, Zoe Lofgren of California, Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Betty McCollum of Minnesota and Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico. 

Two of the representatives, Veasey and Garcia, are part of key caucuses on Capitol Hill whose support Mr. Biden has courted and held onto as he tries to quell concerns about his fitness for a second term. Veasey is a member of Congressional Black Caucus and Garcia and Vasquez are in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Mr. Biden met with both groups earlier this month and participated in an economic summit co-hosted by Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Rep. Steven Horsford, in Nevada on Tuesday. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus' political arm, BOLD PAC, endorsed the president Friday morning.

But Veasey, Garcia, Huffman and Pocan warned in their message, which was directed to the president, that public concerns about his age and fitness are putting at risk what they said should be a winning campaign against former President Donald Trump.

"These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month's debate and are now unlikely to change," the lawmakers said. "We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House."

The four House Democrats said the party has a deep bench of young leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who are prepared to succeed Mr. Biden.

"Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign. It would reinvigorate the race and infuse Democrats with enthusiasm and momentum heading into our convention next month," they said. "Mr. President, you have always put our country and our values first. We call on you to do it once again, so that we can come together and save the country we love."

In a phone interview with CBS News, Huffman predicted more Democrats could come out in the next few days and call on the president to step aside. He also told CBS News that he believed Harris was the best choice as the candidate.

"I think she's next up and she's proven and she's ready," Huffman said. "So I'm going to be enthusiastically supporting Vice President Harris if and when we get to that point. And I do believe that that is the widespread view of most members of Congress."

The new insistence from the four House Democrats brings the total number of lawmakers publicly calling for Mr. Biden to step aside from the 2024 race to more than two dozen.

In his statement, Heinrich said Democrats need a candidate who can defeat Trump in November. While the New Mexico Democrat acknowledged it is solely up to Mr. Biden ato decide whether to end his campaign, he believes it's in the country's best interest for him to do so.

"By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation's greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy," Heinrich said.

Brown and Heinrich join Sens. Peter Welch of Vermont and Jon Tester of Montana, who is in a tough campaign to hold onto his Senate seat, in encouraging Mr. Biden to exit the presidential race.

Mr. Biden has so far bucked the pressure to call off his campaign, maintaining that voters selected him as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. While he has spent the weeks since the June 27 debate campaigning and participating in media interviews, the president was sidelined from the trail Wednesday when he tested positive for COVID-19 and returned to his home in Delaware to quarantine.

"While the majority of the caucus and the diverse base of the party continues to stand with the President and his historic record of delivering for their communities, we're clear-eyed that the urgency and stakes of beating Donald Trump means others feel differently," Mia Ehrenberg, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. "We all share the same goal: an America where everyone gets a fair shot and freedom and democracy are protected. Unlike Republicans, we're a party that accepts — and even celebrates — differing opinions, but in the end, we will absolutely come together to beat Donald Trump this November."

Despite the pushback to Mr. Biden's continued campaign from the more than two dozen House Democrats, the chamber's Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has continued to back the president publicly.

"President Biden, as I've said repeatedly, is our nominee and he has a tremendous track record of success," Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said Friday. "He's one of the most accomplished American presidents in our history and he has the vision, I believe, the ability, capacity and track record to make a case to the American people that will result in us being successful in November."

In:
• United States Congress
• United States Senate
• Joe Biden
• U.S. House of Representatives
• 2024 Elections

Melissa Quinn

Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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