House Dems plot last-ditch effort to delay Biden nomination
One Democratic lawmaker is circulating a letter asking the DNC to postpone the virtual roll call vote expected to be conducted in the coming weeks.
By Sarah Ferris, Elena Schneider and Jennifer Haberkorn
07/16/2024 12:56 PM EDT
Dozens of House Democrats are organizing a plan to speak out against their own party’s effort to seal President Joe Biden’s nomination sooner than originally planned, which they argue stifles the intense ongoing debate about his candidacy, according to a lawmaker involved in the effort.
A drafted letter, circulated by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and obtained by POLITICO, offers the first public signal from Democrats since the weekend’s attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump that scores of their own members remain deeply unsettled about the future of Biden’s candidacy.
“It’s a really bad move by the DNC. Somebody thinks it’s a clever way to lock down debate and I guess by dint of sheer force, achieve unity, but it doesn’t work that way,” Huffman said in an interview. He declined to confirm the existence of a letter.
The missive from this group of Democrats does not specifically call for Biden to leave the race — and, in fact, specifically states that it represents a “spectrum” of views. Even so, many Democrats who have been privately pleading for more of their colleagues to call on Biden to end his campaign saw this as a potentially watershed moment after weeks of mostly private discussions about the party’s dilemma.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/16/house-dems-biden-nomination-00168645
