More than a handful of House Democratic ranking members told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Sunday call that President Joe Biden needs to step aside from the 2024 campaign, according to sources familiar with the call.
More than a handful of House Democratic ranking members told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Sunday call that President Joe Biden needs to step aside from the 2024 campaign, according to sources familiar with the call.
Jeffries held the call to take the temperature of ranking members after Biden’s dismal debate performance last month. The call, held before lawmakers return to Washington this week, was filled with deep concern about potential damage to the Democratic ticket and how it imperils the party’s chances to win back the House majority.
Jeffries did not share with his colleagues where he stands on the question of whether Biden should continue running for reelection, a source who was on the call told CNN.
The number of lawmakers who explicitly said Biden should not be the Democratic nominee was greater than the number who spoke up for him to stay, according to one of the sources. Among those who opposed Biden as the nominee were Reps. Mark Takano, Adam Smith, Jim Himes, Joe Morelle, Jerry Nadler and Susan Wild, according to three sources.
Five lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race: Reps. Lloyd Doggett, Seth Moulton, Raúl Grijalva, Angie Craig and Mike Quigley.
Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Bobby Scott spoke in support of Biden, according to one of the sources.
One of the concerns expressed during the nearly two-hour call was that Democrats will lose their chance at the House majority if Biden is the candidate, one of the sources said, adding that it was generally acknowledged the nominee should be Vice President Kamala Harris.
