Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, arrives at the Rayburn Building on May 24, 2023. | Source: Tom Williams / Getty
Texas Rep. Marc Veasey on Friday became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to call for President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 election to allow another Democrat to run against Donald Trump.
Politico reported that Veasey, who represents Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, was among four more Democrats formally making those calls in a letter sent to Biden addressing concerns about the president’s “fitness” to be the party’s nominee at its convention next month.
The CBC remains among those Democrats staunchly defending Biden’s candidacy amid weeks of scrutiny following the president’s unfortunate performance debating Trump last month. But Veasey’s inclusion in a growing group of Democrats calling for Biden to step aside could mean others in the influential and powerful group of Black Congressmen and women are soon to follow.
The other three Democrats with Veasey include Illinois Rep. Chuy Garcia, who similarly broke from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to become the first member of that group to publicly call for Biden to drop out.
“We must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign. These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change,” the letter, also signed by California Rep. Jared Huffman and Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, said in part before adding later: “We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House.”
The letter called for Vice President Harris to be considered as Biden’s replacement among a “bench of young leaders.”
The letter comes days after Biden was in Las Vegas this week specifically courting Black and Latino voters at the NAACP Convention and the UnidosUS, the latter for which he was forced to cancel a speech after being diagnosed with Covid.
Just last week, the CBC held a call with Biden to express their confidence with him being the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“None of the members who attended the virtual meeting expressed any doubts to the president about his electability or said he should step aside,” the New York Times reported.
Also on Monday, CBC Chair and Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford said in a statement that “Biden is the nominee.”
That came one day after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted a similar call with fellow House Democrats to help convince them to keep supporting Biden’s candidacy. Jeffries said at the time that he “has not changed” his opinion about Biden’s candidacy.
However, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Jeffries has privately warned Biden that his candidacy could doom Democrats.
The whirlwind of developments took another turn Friday after NBC News reported that Biden’s family has begun discussing a strategy for him to exit the race, suggesting it’s just a matter of time before he drops out.
If and when that happens, it could risk alienating and undermining the Black voters who are credited with securing Biden’s election in 2020 and voting for him to be the Democratic nominee in primary elections this year.
“To the majority of Black Voters, the Biden-Harris ticket has delivered on enough of those promises to stand with this ticket today,” Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown, co-founders of Black Voters Matter, and April England-Albright, National Legal Director of Black Voters Matter, said in a statement this week. “In spite of this, the recent nervous cry for Biden to step aside—led largely by white congresspeople, pundits, and donors—threatens to mute and overlook the voices of Black Voters. Such a step by the Democratic Party would not only impact the enthusiasm of Black Voters in this year’s general election, but it would impact Black turnout for decades to come while deepening the widespread belief that the Democratic Party takes our voters for granted.”
A new poll of voters in seven swing states found that a “qualified Democratic candidate younger than Biden” leads Trump by more than even percentage points.
Broken down along racial lines, the poll also found that a “majority of white (54%) and Hispanic (55%) voters think Biden should withdraw, while a majority of Black voters (65%) think he should not.”
This is America.
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