Four additional Democrats in Congress told their lawmaker colleagues during a phone call on Sunday that they believe President Joe Biden should step aside to allow someone else to be the party’s nominee for president, ABC News reported, citing multiple people on the call and familiar with the discussion.
According to the report, the House Democrats who said Biden should drop out of the 2024 race were Reps. Adam Smith of Washington, Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York.
The four lawmakers hold top positions on key House committees and bring the number of Democrats in Congress who have called for the President to reconsider his bid for president to nearly a dozen.
According to NBC News, the conversation took place during a call convened by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), on Sunday afternoon. During the call, which lasted over an hour, Biden’s future as the leader of the party was heavily called into question, according to the sources.
Biden has faced calls to withdraw from the presidential race following his poor showing at the recent debate against former President Donald Trump.
Previously, two sitting Democrats - Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) - publicly called on the President to withdraw.
Biden clarified on Friday that he is staying in the presidential race and has no plans to withdraw despite the debate.
Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin, Biden said, “They’re trying to push me out of the race. Well let me say this as clearly as I can: I'm staying in the race. I'll beat Donald Trump again.”
“I learned long ago, when you get knocked down you get back up. I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work,” he stressed.
Biden later reiterated that point in a post on social media site X, writing, “Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting President of the United States. I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race.”