Push for Biden to Drop Out Reaches Very Top of Democratic Party

The two highest-ranking Democrats in the U.S. Congress have reportedly warned President Joe Biden behind closed doors that his continued presence at the top of the party's ticket could imperil down-ballot candidates in November.

The New York Timesreported late Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) "each told Mr. Biden privately over the past week that their members were deeply concerned about his chances in November and the fates of House and Senate candidates" should he defy calls to drop his reelection bid against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

ABC Newsreported that Schumer "had a blunt conversation with Biden, making the case it would be best if Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race."

"A source familiar with the matter tells ABC News that House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed similar views directly to Biden, suggesting he should drop out of the race," the outlet added.

The conversations with Democratic leaders appear to have left Biden "more receptive" to calls to drop out, according to the Times—an attitude that contrasts with the incumbent president's furious dismissal of concerns expressed by rank-and-file Democrats in recent private conversations.

Twenty House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly urged Biden to step aside to date, and a poll released Wednesday showed that 65% of Democratic voters want the president to withdraw from the 2024 race.

"To argue that Biden staying in is good for Dems is to argue that you have a better grasp of the electoral situation than Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries."

Politicoreported Wednesday that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—the former House speaker—told Biden directly last week that "she and other Democratic lawmakers worry that he's dragging down the party." One unnamed ally of Pelosi told the outlet that she intends to "do everything in her power to make sure" Biden is replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket.

"To argue that Biden staying in is good for Dems is to argue that you have a better grasp of the electoral situation than Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries," wrote progressive organizer Aaron Regunberg, a vocal proponent of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket.

The reported conversations between Biden and leading Democrats underscore the extent to which previously marginal calls for the incumbent to step aside have quickly spread to every level of the party, from grassroots activists to leadership to delegates to the party's convention.

Politicoobtained messages exchanged by Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegates and activists in California in the wake of Biden's disastrous debate performance against Trump last month.

"DNC delegate Susan Bolle in the days after the debate said she heard from more than 150 of the voters she represents asking her to call for Biden to step down," the outlet reported Thursday.

Despite protests from delegates and some House Democrats, the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that it plans to hold a virtual roll call vote to nominate Biden at the beginning of August, weeks before the party's convention in Chicago later that month.

"A virtual roll call before the convention would be unprecedented for a major party, with both Democrats and Republicans traditionally formalizing their nominee at their convention—even if the selection has already been made months earlier through the primary and caucus process," The Washington Postreported Wednesday.

Experts say claims that a virtual roll call is necessary to ensure the Democratic nominee is not kept off the ballot in several states, including Ohio, are false.

"I don't think it's serious to say that Democrats need to do a virtual roll call to assure their party's nominee will be on the ballot," Rick Hasen, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in a blog post earlier this week. "This is about politics, not law."