Four additional House Democrats publicly urged Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential election.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) signed a joint message published Friday.
“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 joint statement read.
NEW: Four more House Dems call@on Biden to step aside: Huffman, Veasey, Garcia and Pocan pic.twitter.com/V9Av6S5JU6
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) July 19, 2024
FOUR MORE House Democrats call for Biden to drop out of the race
Four more House Democrats called on Joe Biden to 'step aside' and drop out.Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Jared Huffman, D-Calif., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, and Huy Garcia, D-Texas., all signed the letter. pic.twitter.com/O72DVrLPhh
— 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠 (@chiIIum) July 19, 2024
From The Hill:
The lawmakers continued, writing that “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.”
Two other Democrats have also joined the calls on Friday: Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a frontliner, said in a statement Biden should step down so Democrats can “nominate a new leader who can reliably and consistently make the case against Donald Trump and make the case for the future of America,” and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a close ally of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), wrote a letter to the president urging him to step aside.
According to NBC News, the number of congressional Democrats calling on Biden to step aside has grown to 30.
There are now 30 Democrats in Congress publicly calling on President Biden to step aside. Zoe Lofgren is the latest. @remynuma is keeping track for us. pic.twitter.com/18whp6lDNI
— Ryan Schmelz (@RyanSchmelzFOX) July 19, 2024
Per NBC News:
Eight congressional Democrats on Friday joined the growing chorus of lawmakers calling on President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee, bringing the total number of Hill Democrats who want someone else at the top of the ticket to 30.
The new defections include two close allies of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as well as a third senator.
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, who is running for re-election this fall, became the third Senate Democrat to call on Biden to leave the race, joining Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont and Sen. Jon Tester, who is facing a tough re-election bid in Montana.
The latest Biden defections in the House hail from some of the president’s core constituencies of support. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus — whose leaders campaigned with Biden this week in Nevada — to call on Biden to bow out.
The steadily growing list of congressional Democrats calling for Biden to step aside comes as rumors circulate that Biden has agreed to step aside.
According to political analyst Mark Halperin, Biden may withdraw from the presidential election this weekend.