FORT WORTH, Texas — U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Fort Worth) joined three other congressional Democrats in calling for President Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for president in a letter Friday.
Veasey, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California), U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Illinois) and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) issued a joint statement calling on Biden to “pass the torch” Friday following Biden’s widely panned debate performance last month.
“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 reads. “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 refers to “a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris,” but stopped short of explicitly endorsing Harris as a replacement for Biden.
“Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign,” the letter continued. “It would reinvigorate the race and infuse Democrats with enthusiasm and momentum heading into our convention next month.”
Veasey is reportedly the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to publicly call on Biden to step aside. Another Texas Democrat, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), was the first member of Congress to publicly call on Biden to withdraw from the race. Within hours of that, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro in an interview on MSNBC said, “I believe another Democrat would have a better shot at beating Trump because as Congressman Doggett said in his statement – it’s too risky.”
Other Texas Democrats, including Veasey’s fellow Congressional Black Caucus members U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D- Dallas) and U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) have been among Biden’s staunchest supporters.
Some Texas Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), have reportedly punted on the question of whether or not Biden should step aside as the party’s nominee.
Biden's campaign chair Friday said Biden will remain in the race. The Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 19 in Chicago.