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Post by Webster on Jul 12, 2024 18:35:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Top House Democrat says he met privately with Biden, shared lawmakers' 'conclusions' amid debate falloutThe House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said he shared lawmakers’ “insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward” in a private meeting with Joe Biden yesterday. The meeting came after more than a dozen House Democrats publicly called on the president to end his bid for re-election after his stumbling performance against Donald Trump in their first debate. Jeffries had promised that he would talk to Biden after speaking with all of the 213 Democrats in the House of Representatives, and, in a letter to lawmakers today, he indicated that he has done so, without elaborating on Biden’s response. Here’s what Jeffries wrote: Over the past several days, House Democrats have engaged in a thoughtful and extensive discussion about the future of our country, during a time when freedom, democracy and the economic well-being of everyday Americans are on the line. Our discourse has been candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive.
On behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, I requested and was graciously granted a private meeting with President Joe Biden. That meeting occurred yesterday evening. In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.
As House Democrats have done throughout this Congress, we will continue to work in the best interests of everyday Americans. Thank you for your continued leadership in service of the communities we are privileged to represent.
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Post by Webster on Jul 12, 2024 19:01:21 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden's call with Hispanic lawmakers reportedly goes awry as another congressman asks him to step asideA conference call between Joe Biden and lawmakers in the Congressional Hispanic caucus left many with a bad taste in their mouth, Notus reports, as the call’s organizers prevented some members from speaking and one congressman told the president that he should drop out. Only two members of the Democratic group were initially allowed to ask questions, but after Biden opened the floor to more questions, California’s Mike Levin told the president he thought he should make way for another candidate. Notus said the president responded to Levin, though they did not report what he said. Then, the call’s host, Representative Linda T Sánchez, ended the call, and Levin later went public with his belief that Democrats would be better with another candidate. Here’s what he had to say: Like so many of you, I was naturally concerned about President Biden’s performance in the recent debate.
Since then, I’ve made my opinions known in the appropriate manner with House Democratic leadership and my colleagues. And I called upon all Americans to give the president a window to make an expeditious decision about his candidacy.
In the two weeks since the debate, I’ve had a chance to connect with so many of you, our constituents and supporters. The response from literally several hundred of you has been overwhelming, and I’m very grateful for your candor.
First, let me say that President Biden has been an outstanding leader, not only of our nation, but of the entire free world. Making this statement is not easy. I have deep respect for President Biden’s five-plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years. But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 14:20:27 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Four more House Democrats call on Biden to step asideAnother group of House Democrats called on Biden to step aside on Friday, after Jon Tester of Montana became the second sitting senator to publicly urge Biden to reconsider his re-election bid. -- 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. Democrats have a deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice-President Kamala Harris, who you have lifted up, empowered, and prepared for this moment, wrote Democratic congressmen Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas, Chuy Garcia of Illinois, and Marc Pocan of Wisconsin wrote in a letter addressed to the president.Though the congressmen do not explicitly endorse Harris, the letter strongly suggests she should be at the top of the ticket. Emphasizing their “great admiration” and “sincere respect” for the president’s decades of service, they write: “Mr President, you have always put our country and our values first. We call on you to do it once again, so that we can come together and save the country we love.” Third sitting Democratic US Senator publicly calls on Biden to quit raceMark Heinrich, the senior US Senator from New Mexico, has just put out a statement adding his voice to the growing chorus of national Democratic lawmakers calling on Joe Biden to step aside from his reelection campaign for the White House. Heinrich urges Biden to step aside for the good of the country and pass the torch, saying the party needs a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November, for the sake of US democracy.
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 14:53:55 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Lofgren joins highest profile Democrats urging Biden to quit raceIn the last few moments, two more Democratic members of Congress have called on Joe Biden to step aside from his reelection campaign, even as the US president issued a defiant statement. Zoe Lofgren wrote a statement, posted by CNN’s Jake Tapper just now, saying to Biden: “Your candidacy is on a trajectory to lose the White House and potentially impact crucial House and Senate races down ballot….I urge you to step aside from our Party’s nomination to allow another Democratic candidate to compete.” Ohio congressman Greg Landsman also made the call. Lofgren sat on the January 6 committee hearing evidence into the attack on the Capitol by extremist supporters of Donald Trump in 2021 as they aimed to overturn his defeat by Biden. She was also an impeachment manager on the House team that prosecuted Trump as president first for trying, essentially, politically to extort Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in this and his second impeachment for the Capitol attack.
Zoe Lofgren is up there with Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin in terms of the highest-profile and highly-experienced US representatives who have so far publicly either called on Joe Biden to think about his future at the top of the Democratic ticket for this election or actually make way for someone else. None of the three, or any of the Democrats pressuring Biden, have said publicly exactly who that someone else should be. But they have made themselves plain that they don’t think Biden can win against Donald Trump again even though he’s a successful president. Lofgren’s statement says in what is essentially an open letter to Biden: “Your lifetime of public service has inspired many and is something I respect greatly.” She calls Trump “unprincipled and corrupt,” a view cemented by sitting on the bipartisan January 6 congressional committee. She asks Biden to step aside and let another fight for a Democratic return to the White House for consecutive terms, saying: “I make this request…in hopes that your legacy of accomplishments will be preserved” and adding that if Biden formally becomes the party’s nominee next month she will campaign for him but says “I greatly doubt that the outcome will be positive and our country will pay a dreadful price for that.”
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 14:54:36 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 15:23:33 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Representative McGarvey of Kentucky urges Biden to step asideJoining the growing chorus of Democrats urging Biden to take a backseat in the upcoming election, Representative Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky said in a post to X Friday that “the stakes are too high” for Biden to remain in the race. “There is no joy in the recognition that [Biden] should not be our nominee in November,” he said. “But the stakes are too high, and we can’t risk the focus of the campaign being anything other than Donald Trump, his MAGA extremists, and the mega-wealthy dark money donors who are prepared to destroy our path toward a more perfect union with Trump’s Project 2025.”
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 15:24:13 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 16:02:38 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Rep. Seth Moulton says Biden 'should exit the race' in new Op-EdIn an op-ed published by the Boston Globe on Friday, Democratic representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts explains how he came to the “crushing” realization that Biden should not be the Democratic candidate facing Trump in November. Moulton described seeing Biden, whom he described as a treasured friend and mentor, at a recent event in Normandy observing the 80th anniversary of D-Day. He claims the president, with whom he had spent time with frequently since winning his House seat in 2014, seemed not to recognize him. “Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” Moulton said. Given Biden’s apparent state of health and the recent assassination attempt on Trump, Moulton said he is “no longer confident” Biden can win relelection. “The president should bow out of the race,” he said. “The harsh reality is that all the characteristics that have made Biden an irrepressible force — the energy, the vitality, the sharp, scrappy wit — are flickering,” Moulton added. Moulton had already expressed his feelings that Biden should step aside, joining a growing group of Democratic lawmakers urging the president to exit. He urged more members of his party to come forward and “speak the truth about President Biden before it’s too late”. “We have a choice to make,” he said. “To my colleagues who are deeply concerned but who haven’t said so publicly: Let’s demonstrate the courageous, forward-looking leadership that Americans tell us they want in their politics and rob the Trump-Vance ticket of the opponent they want.” -Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/19/opinion/seth-moulton-biden-presidential-race-exit/?event=event12
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Post by Webster on Jul 19, 2024 16:45:45 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Representative Vasquez calls on Biden to end campaignPolitical publication Punchbowl is reporting that New Mexico representative Gabe Vasquez has joined the ranks of Democrats calling on Biden to step aside for the November election. As of 1:51 pm PST, Reuters counted that 32 of the 264 Democrats in Congress had openly called for Biden to end his campaign, while others continue to pressure the president behind the scenes.
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Post by Webster on Jul 20, 2024 15:47:10 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Seth Moulton, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts, has said he decided to join calls for Joe Biden to exit the presidential race after, Moulton claimed, the 81-year-old appeared not to recognise him at a recent event. Moulton was one of the first Democrats to call for Biden to drop out of the race shortly after his disastrous debate performance last month. On Friday, Moulton ramped up his efforts to oust the president from the 2024 ticket in a damning op-ed for the Boston Globe. Moulton said he met Biden in a small group for the 80th anniversary of D-day in Normandy on 6 June. “For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognise me,” the Democrat wrote. -- Of course, that can happen as anyone ages but, as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem. It was a crushing realisation, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.
America needs him to win and, like most Americans, I’m no longer confident that he can. The president should bow out of the race.
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Post by Webster on Jul 20, 2024 15:49:16 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Joe Biden has called Sheila Jackson Lee a “great American” and “towering figure in our politics” in a statement issued after the Democratic representative from Texas died on Friday. Jackson Lee, a strong progressive voice in the Democratic party who was outspoken on African American and women’s rights, announced last month she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. She was 74 and had previously had breast cancer. A statement from Biden released by the White House reads: Sheila Jackson Lee was a great American.
I had the honor of working with her during her nearly 30 years in Congress. No matter the issue - from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people - she was unrelenting in her leadership. Always fearless, she spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity and grace.
Those character traits established her as a towering figure in our politics. We saw it through her efforts to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, make Juneteenth a federal holiday, reintroduce the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and so much more.
Her character revealed itself time and again, including in her battle against cancer. Her brilliant spirit was unbreakable.
Sheila Jackson Lee is part of a long line of patriots who delivered the promise of America to all Americans.
Jill and I send our love and condolences to her family, her constituents, and beloved colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus. May God bless our friend, Sheila Jackson Lee.
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Post by Webster on Jul 20, 2024 15:52:20 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Mark Takano becomes latest Democrat to call on Biden to step asideMark Takano, a Democratic representative from California, has issued a statement calling for Joe Biden to drop his re-election bid, adding that it is “time to pass the torch” to Kamala Harris. Takano, in a statement posted on X, said: President Biden’s greatest accomplishment remains saving democracy in 2020. He can and must do so again in 2024—by passing the torch to Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party Presidential nominee. It has become clear to me that the demands of a modern campaign are now best met by the Vice President, who can seamlessly transition into the role of our party’s standard bearer.He added: Joe, I love and respect you. But the stakes are too high to fail. It’s time to pass the torch to Kamala.
As we previously reported, California representative Mark Takano privately said that Joe Biden should end his re-election campaign weeks before today’s statement. Takano was among four House Democrats who said they believed Biden should step aside during a call earlier this month with House Democratic leadership, according to multiple reports. Alongside Jerry Nadler, Adam Smith and Joseph Morelle, Takano voiced support for having a change at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in a private meeting with the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, top leaders in the House Democratic caucus and top Democrats on committees, according to reports.
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Post by Webster on Jul 22, 2024 8:37:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) High-ranking House Democrat Clark endorses HarrisIn yet another sign that Kamala Harris is rapidly assembling the support of top Democrats, Katherine Clark, the party’s second highest-ranking lawmaker in the House of Representatives, has endorsed her. Clark serves as the minority whip, a position just below minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has not endorsed Harris yet.
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Post by Webster on Jul 22, 2024 14:40:54 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Harris to meet with Democratic leaders of Senate and the HouseHakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and New York congressman, is about to take questions from reporters on Capitol Hill. He also just disclosed that he and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, are about to meet with Kamala Harris. It will be their first in-person meeting since Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside from his 2024 re-election campaign and endorsed Harris, his vice-president, to replace him. Jeffries said Harris has “excited the community”.
Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader, did not take the opportunity during a brief hallway press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill just now definitively to endorse Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for president. He intends to meet with the US vice-president first. That meeting is about to take place, also with the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer. Jeffries did say that Biden’s favoring of Harris as his successor has excited Democrats across the party and the country. The House leader and New York congressman praised Joe Biden, saying “he will go down in history as one of the greatest public servants of all time”. And he said that Harris was a threat to the Republicans’ election ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance. “Donald Trump and the extreme ‘Maga’ Republicans are having a meltdown,” he said, referring to the far right domination of the Republican agenda under the Trump campaign slogan “Make America great again.”
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Post by Webster on Jul 22, 2024 14:47:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Ex-attorney general Eric Holder will lead vetting of VP pick options for Harris – reportThe former US attorney general, Eric Holder, who served under president Barack Obama, and his law firm will conduct the vetting process of any potential vice- presidential candidates that could become Kamala Harris’s running mate, according to a report. Harris is not yet the Democratic party’s nominee for president in the 2024 election and the position will not be filled officially until the convention next month. But she is the obvious front-runner after Joe Biden endorsed her to replace him at the top of the party’s ticket for the White House this November. Now Reuters is reporting that Holder will lead the vetting of those she chooses as potential vice-presidential picks if it ends up as her ticket. The agency cited unnamed sources. Holder returned to his old law firm, Covington & Burling, based in New York, after he left government.
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