Most House Democrats who have been urging President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race have remained silent on whether they would support him as a candidate for the White House if their calls go unheeded.
The 81-year-old presidential candidate’s dismal performance in a debate two weeks ago has raised concerns among Democrats that he may not be able to beat former President Donald Trump in a November debate.
Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) and Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) have all publicly called on Biden to resign.
Fox News Digital reached out to each of the five Democrats multiple times via email on Monday but did not receive a response.
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President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington upon returning from a trip to Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 7. (AP/Susan Walsh)
Both Biden and his campaign have maintained that he is the best candidate to continue his campaign and prevent Trump from being re-elected.
But even his allies question whether he has the physical and mental fortitude to lead a second term, much less continue the campaign into early November, and some Democrats have expressed concern that his candidacy could undermine weaker left-wing candidates running for the House and Senate.
But the Democrats’ window of opportunity to select a new candidate is narrowing rapidly and is likely to become virtually impossible after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
The president sent a letter to Democratic lawmakers early Monday morning making it clear he has no intention of backing down.
“The question of how to proceed has been debated for well over a week now,” Biden wrote, “and it’s time to end it. We have one job: to defeat Donald Trump.”
On June 27, President Biden and former President Trump faced off again in a key debate ahead of the 2024 presidential election. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, left)
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The pressure has only grown since then, with Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, joining calls for Biden to resign in a CNN interview late Monday afternoon.
But Smith insisted in the interview that he would support Biden if he becomes the nominee in August.
Democrats were largely ambivalent on Capitol Hill on Monday night when Congress reconvened for the first time a week after the debate. Those who stopped to speak to the media mostly defended Biden and aimed their anger at Trump.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was the sixth House Democrat to urge Biden not to seek reelection, but said he would support him as the nominee. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congress Quarterly/Getty Images)
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a Biden ally and the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, did not answer reporters’ questions about Biden’s candidacy after the House vote.
Asked how he thought Vice President Kamala Harris would fare if she came out on top in the 2024 presidential race, Democratic Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana told reporters, “I think she’ll be fantastic. I think it’s time for a woman to be president… But Joe Biden is our president and we’re going to support him.”
House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said her caucus plans to meet with Biden later this week, and implicitly criticized Democrats who have publicly voiced their displeasure with Biden.
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“I think it’s hard not to be concerned,” she said of Biden’s debate performance, adding, “I think he’s been a really great president over the last three and a half years and has worked closely with progressives.”
“I think it’s important to have this discussion now because people certainly have concerns, but I don’t think it should be a public discussion.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has indicated she will support Biden for now. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Joe Morrell of New York, who reportedly expressed concerns about Biden’s candidacy during a conference call with House Democrats on Sunday, did not confirm those reports when asked by reporters but acknowledged the president needs to improve.
“I said I think the president needs to show the American people that what we saw in the debate is not normal,” Morell said. “Unfortunately, that’s a burden on the president right now, but he’s got to keep doing it, and he’s got to do it quickly.”
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Other lawmakers, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), strongly endorsed Biden for the Democratic nomination, neither of whom mentioned concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities.
Asked for comment on Democrats’ calls for him to resign, a Biden campaign spokesman pointed to remarks made at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday.
“I’m not going to waste three and a half years of hard work on a 90-minute debate. I’m going to keep campaigning and I’m going to beat Donald Trump,” Biden said.
