WASHINGTON – Several House Democratic leaders said in a private call Sunday afternoon that President Joe Biden should withdraw from the party's nomination for president in 2024, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.
According to reports from the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, NBC News, CNN and other sources, Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morrell of New York said in a call for committee ranking members organized by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Calif.) that 81-year-old Biden should withdraw from the presidential race against Donald Trump.
Nadler is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Smith is the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Takano is the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee and Morrell is the top Democrat on the Administration Committee.
All of those lawmakers are the top Democrats on House committees. The call was organized by House Democratic leadership and attended by other top Democrats. It came as lawmakers return to Washington on Monday for a pivotal week and as questions grow about whether Biden should be in the White House now, beating former President Trump in November and then running the country for another four years until 2029, when he'll be 86 years old.
Five other House Democrats have publicly called on the president to opt out of the 2024 presidential race: Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), Mike Quigley (D-Illinois), Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.).
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Democrats have publicly and privately discussed concerns about Biden's fitness to be president and his eligibility to be the presidential nominee following his shaky performance in a debate with Trump on June 27. Though the president remains adamant that he will continue to run, a small but growing number of Democrats in recent days have called for him to take over as the top candidate for November's presidential election.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, released a statement following media reports about Sunday's leaders' call, saying he would “continue to do all we can to support the Biden-Harris campaign in Virginia and across the nation.”
Biden attempted to ease concerns in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday, but Democrats remain concerned about the president's mental state and ability to perform his job. House Democrats are scheduled to hold their regularly scheduled caucus meeting on Tuesday morning, and one of the topics will be Biden and the 2024 presidential election.
