Multiple letters circulating among House Dems calling on Biden to step aside for 2024: sources
There are multiple letters circulating among House Democrats that would call for President Biden to step aside in the 2024 White House race, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital.
Efforts have included both vulnerable Democrats in swing districts and left-wing lawmakers in safe seats, one of the sources said.
The letters are mainly being circulated at the member level right now, sources said, with lawmakers closely guarding the monumental decision they are weighing.
‘Everyone is guarded now,’ one senior House Democratic member told Fox News. ‘People may be just doing what they believe is best for them.’
It comes after Reuters first reported that a group of 25 House Democrats was preparing to call on Biden to step aside as the 2024 candidate if he does not buck concerns that he’s not up to the task within a matter of days.
House Democratic leaders have not seen that letter, Fox News is told.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News was first to report on the effort by safe-seat Democrats on Wednesday.
The news emerges as more Democrats come forward to publicly express their concerns about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office. Questions about his physical and mental condition were brought to the forefront during last Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump.
Democrats are now questioning whether Biden is the best positioned candidate to beat Trump, who they largely view as a threat to democracy.
The dam broke on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to outright call for Biden to pull out of the race.
‘My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,’ Doggett said in a statement. ‘Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.’
Hours later, Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. – two of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle – came out and said Biden would likely lose to Trump.
The Biden campaign told Fox News Digital in response to Democrats’ concerns, ‘He is absolutely not dropping out.’
Biden’s allies have pointed out over the last couple of days that he has been in contact with both Congressional Democratic leaders, and that he’s taken steps to alleviate concerns like agreeing to a sit-down interview with ABC News and announcing a press conference for the coming days
