Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) on Tuesday called on President Biden to withdraw from the Democratic ticket.
Doggett became the first sitting House Democrat to call on Biden to end his presidential campaign.
In a statement, Doggett praised Biden for his years of public service, saying he has “achieved much for our country at home and abroad.” But, he said, the time has come for Biden to step away from the ticket because “too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now.”
“President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020,” Doggett said. “He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024.”
Doggett, who is 77 and has been in the House since 1995, said Biden should act like Lyndon B. Johnson — who once represented the district Doggett now holds — and make the “painful decision to withdraw.”
“While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional,” Doggett said. “He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process.”
Doggett added that his decision to make this call was not done lightly “nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved.”
“I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” he said. “I respectfully call on him to do so.”
In an interview with The Post after his announcement, Doggett said his views are not unique among his colleagues.
“I know that not everyone agrees with me,” he said. But, he said, “it’s important that this message be heard, because I think it reflects the feelings of a significant number of my colleagues.”
Doggett also said he wishes he had spoken up about Biden’s candidacy earlier, but he and other Democrats were worried about how Republicans would use their concerns as a weapon.
“That’s a motivating factor for me and many other people for not coming out earlier,” he said. “This should have been done a year ago.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked about Doggett’s call for Biden to leave the presidential race, said the White House respects “other people’s opinions and thoughts.”
“I think that’s what makes this party different from the other side,” she said.
