Republicans pile on Biden to resign after he quits 2024 race
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Top Congressional Republicans are calling on President Biden to resign, arguing if he is unfit to run for president, he is unfit to serve the rest of his term.
Why it matters: Senior GOP lawmakers are making the case that keeping Biden in place poses a national security threat, with members poised to do whatever they can to amplify the chaos in the Democratic party as November approaches.
- "If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement.
- "Being President is the hardest job in the world, and I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said in a statement first provided to Axios.
- "It is out of concern for our country's national security that I am formally calling on President Biden to resign from office," Daines added.
Yes, but: Any effort to force Biden from office would be an uphill fight. Republicans have a tiny majority in the House, and Democrats control the Senate.
What to watch: Republican senators and Senate candidates are being encouraged to push for President Biden's resignation now that he has exited the 2024 presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with NRSC strategy.
- Republicans are also turning their attention to Vice President Kamala Harris, with Daines noting that Senate Democrats who called on Biden to step aside did not immediately endorse Harris.
- "This leads me to believe they think she is unqualified to serve as Commander-in-Chief," Daines asserted.
- "Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way," Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Trump's running mate tweeted. "She owns all of these failures."
What they're saying: "Let me be clear, if Joe Biden can't run for re-election, he is not capable of serving as president for the next six months and needs to resign today," Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in a statement following Biden's announcement.
- Vance tweeted earlier Sunday that a Biden decision to leave the race would amount to a "clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
- "There is no middle ground, Vance added.
What we're hearing: Republicans are also trying to paint Biden's decision to withdraw as overturning the will of Democratic primary voters, in a bid to undermine Democrats' argument that they're the better stewards of democracy.
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of having spent the past several weeks since Biden's disastrous debate performance "trying to upend the expressed will of the American people in primary elections across the country."
- Johnson alleged that Democrats "invalidated the votes of millions of Americans by forcing their nominee, Joe Biden, off the ballot."
- "Democrat party bosses just proved that they have absolutely no respect for their own voters. After lecturing others about democracy, they just forced Joe Biden off the ticket, trashing the primary choice of 14 million of their own voters, said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Editor's note: This article has been updated to add comments from more Republicans.
