Biden faces Capitol Hill barrage ahead of critical weekend
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President Biden speaks at the White House on July 14, 2024. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.
President Biden is facing a barrage of new statements from House and Senate Democrats on Friday urging him to bow out of the 2024 presidential race.
Why it matters: Democratic lawmakers tell Axios the calls will likely continue apace until Biden drops out – which even some of the president's allies think is increasingly likely.
- "I know of more that are coming," one House Democrat told Axios.
- Top Democrats believe Biden will make a decision on whether to stay in the race as soon as this weekend, Axios reported on Thursday.
Driving the news: Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said in a statement that it is "in the best interests of our country for [Biden] to step aside," becoming the third senator to call on the president to withdraw.
- Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) wrote in a Chicago Tribune op-ed: "It is with a heavy heart and much personal reflection that I am ... calling on Joe Biden to pass the torch to a new generation."
- Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Chuy García (D-Ill.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) said in a joint statement that "widespread public concerns" about Biden's age are "jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign."
- Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said on CNN that "the American people want a new leader, somebody that isn't Trump and that isn't Biden."
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) wrote in a letter to Biden: "I urge you to step aside from our Party's nomination to allow another Democratic candidate to compete against and beat Donald Trump in the November election."
What they're saying: "This is not easy. All of us would prefer not to do this publicly. We would much rather give the President space and grace to get there on his own," Huffman told Axios.
- But, he added, "we've tried that and we're running out of time. The mixed messages from the White House unfortunately make it necessary for more of us to keep coming out."
- "Hopefully the President will make a major announcement soon, and we can pivot to thanking him for doing the right thing," Huffman added.
Between the lines: The join statement appeared particularly calibrated to show that Biden's strongest bases of support on Capitol Hill are far from unified.
- Huffman, García and Pocan are all Congressional Progressive Caucus members. Pocan is a former chair of the group.
- García is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose political arm, BOLD PAC, endorsed Biden on Friday.
- Veasey is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has been Biden's most solid congressional faction since the debate.
Yes, but: Biden and his campaign have repeatedly maintained he will not drop out of the race, and he is still enjoying public pronouncements of support from key Democrats in Congress.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who reportedly warned about Biden's impact on Democrats further down the ballot, said Friday that Biden "is our nominee" and can "make a case to the American people that will result in us being successful in November."
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in an Instagram Live on Thursday night that she has "not seen the plan" for how Democrats would transition from Biden to another candidate.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
