19 Democratic Congressmen Have Urged Biden To Step Down

Nineteen Democrats in the House have urged President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

Last week, in a private call held by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, numerous Democratic representatives urged Biden to stop seeking reelection. These Democratic representatives included Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York), Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washing), Rep. Mark Takano (D-California) and Joe Morelle (D-New York).

Other representatives voiced concerns as well, including Rep. Jim Hines (D-Connecticut), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington).

Beyer’s spokesperson, Aaron Fritschner, disputed claims that Beyer wanted a new Democratic candidate, writing on X, “To be clear [Beyer] supports President Biden and said so on this call and any reporting to the contrary is a misunderstanding of what he said and what he believes.”

These concerns arrived after the president’s interview with ABC News last week did little to alleviate the concerns of the party that sparked during the presidential debate. During the interview, Biden announced that only “the Lord almighty” could prevent his reelection bid, causing further criticism.

Jefferies has rarely spoken about Biden’s candidacy following his shaky debate performance but posted a Bible verse on X prior to the Sunday morning call.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) was one of many critics of Biden’s statement, saying that this is a real-world decision during an MSNBC interview.

“We have to win this election,” Welch said. “This isn’t a decision for Lord almighty. This is a real-world decision for real-world people in politics who care about our country.”

In addition to the call amongst House Democrats, numerous Senate Democrats have also discussed Biden’s future in conversations led by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia).

Biden’s supporters have urged him to participate in more unscripted events, like town halls, to attempt to prove his ability as a candidate.