Fort Worth Congressman Marc Veasey and three other congressional Democrats joined a growing chorus for President Joe Biden to step aside as the 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 the second Democrat from Texas to call on Biden to withdraw. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin was the first.
“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, a moderate who has served more than a decade in Congress, 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.
Read the full story from the Texas Tribune here.