U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey calls for Biden to step aside

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, and three other congressional Democrats called on President Joe Biden to “pass the torch” and step aside as his party’s nominee.

Fellow Democratic Reps. Jared Huffman of California, Chuy Garcia of Illinois and Mark Pocan joined Veasey in a joint statement Friday morning. Veasey is now the second Democrat from Texas to call on Biden to withdraw, after Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin.

“We must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign,” the statement reads. “We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do at this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House.”

In their statement, the members mention a “deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris,” but stop short of explicitly endorsing Harris as Biden’s replacement.

Veasey is notably the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to make this call publicly. Other members of the caucus, including Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and Al Green of Houston, have been among Biden’s most steadfast supporters.

Doggett was the first member of Congress to come out publicly against Biden. Roughly two dozen other House Democrats and three U.S. Senators have issued similar public statements in the two weeks since the president’s disastrous debate in June.

Veasey’s statement came amid a particularly turbulent period of the race, just a day after the Republican National Convention adjourned and a week out from an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, who accepted the nomination on Friday. Democrats have grown increasingly worried as Biden continues to slip in polls, while the attempt on Trump’s life has locked in further support for the Republican this November.

Mia Ehrenberg, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, provided a statement that said all Democrats “share the same goal.”

“While the majority of the caucus and the diverse base of the party continues to stand with the President and his historic record of delivering for their communities, we’re clear-eyed that the urgency and stakes of beating Donald Trump means others feel differently,” the statement read.

Veasey, a moderate who has served more than a decade in Congress, had previously been one of the few Texas Democrats to not take an open position on Biden’s candidacy, instead warning other members to “chill a little bit” immediately after the debate. He later told reporters that representatives from battleground districts should feel free to come out against Biden if it would help them get reelected.

“What I said this morning and expressed to my colleagues, particularly from members on the front line, is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be reelected and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves, then that’s what they need to do,” Veasey said a week after the debate.

All four Democrats in Friday’s statement, however, come from safe Democratic seats. Veasey won reelection in 2022 with 72% of the vote.

Veasey’s comments mean just three Democrats from Texas have yet to take a public position: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Colin Allred of Dallas punted on the question as he focuses on a tough race against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Eight other Democrats from Texas have made public comments supportive of Biden.

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