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California Rep. Adam Schiff has called on Joe Biden to “pass the baton” and withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, becoming one of the most prominent Democrats to urge the president to end his reelection campaign.
Schiff, a close aide to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who led the first impeachment against then-President Donald Trump, issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday saying he had “serious concerns” about whether Biden could beat Trump in November’s election.
Schiff, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is the first prominent Democrat to call on Biden to not seek reelection since last week’s assassination attempt on Trump prompted many Democrats to suspend their campaigns to unseat him as a top candidate.
Schiff’s move comes as Biden’s supporters seek to hold a virtual roll call vote on the president’s renomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. If successful, it could preemptively thwart efforts to remove the 81-year-old Biden that began in the wake of his unfavorable performance in last month’s presidential debate.
Biden’s shaky performance in the debate has sparked panic among Democratic lawmakers, top donors and party officials who worry he won’t be able to beat Trump at the polls or hang on to the White House for another four years.
Biden has trailed Trump in nearly every poll, both nationally and in battleground states, and an Associated Press poll released Wednesday found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to step down.
But many Democrats have been hesitant to air their concerns publicly. A relatively small number of them — about two dozen so far — have said publicly they want Biden out of office, and many more have privately voiced their concerns and tried to pressure the president behind closed doors.
Schiff’s intervention could signal a change in approach. As a senior member of Congress and close to some in the Democratic leadership after serving in Congress for nearly three decades, his comments could encourage others to publicly voice their concerns.
Schiff on Wednesday called Biden “one of the most important presidents in the history of our country” but added that “our country is at a crossroads.”
The congressman said “the choice whether to withdraw from the campaign remains solely with President Biden,” but added that he believes it is time for the president to “pass the baton” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by accepting another Democrat as the party’s nominee for the White House.
Schiff’s decision to go public came as the top two Democrats in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, raised objections to an early roll-call vote. Schumer and Jeffries urged Biden to delay his nomination until next month, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Critics within the party have accused the DNC of “stifling debate and prematurely stifling any possibility of a change in the Democratic nominee.”
Some party leaders called for the virtual vote to be held even sooner, as soon as next week.
Biden, who has repeatedly rejected calls to end his reelection campaign, was speaking at a conference of Latino leaders in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon.
A Biden campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Schiff’s remarks.
Republicans and the Trump campaign have sought to exploit Democratic infighting by portraying the party as united at its national convention in Milwaukee this week.
Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said Wednesday that he would decline an invitation to Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, to participate in a vice presidential debate with Kamala Harris, and that the campaign would wait until it was clear who the party’s presidential nominee would be.
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